


Human Spinel x Full human Steven (high school ) au

by Gamergirlmoira



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Drama, Fluff and Angst, Implied Sexual Content, Other, Romance, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:33:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 44
Words: 59,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21822967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gamergirlmoira/pseuds/Gamergirlmoira
Summary: (Feedback is greatly appreciated)After being homeschooled for so long, Pearl finally agreed to let Steven attend high school. Steven being Steven, he was so excited to meet new people, unfortunately for him, high school is a bit different than everything he's experienced, and even more so one person could change his whole view of everything. maybe....Steven can change her view on everything....(Credit goes to Rebecca Sugar for Steven Universe)
Relationships: Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe), Spinel/Steven Universe
Comments: 15
Kudos: 97





	1. Chapter 1

Steven looked up at the building, smiling with stars in his eyes. He wasn't sure what to expect but he always knew how to handle situations if they got out of hand. Pearl gave a honk from the car that she bought from Connie's parents. "Have a good day! I'll pick you up after school!" She shouted at him excitedly. Steven looked back at Pearl with a smile before waving "see ya later!" He replied loudly before sprinting excitedly inside. 

There was a lot of people inside already, suddenly an arm from the right slung itself around Stevens shoulders. He turned to his right and saw that it was just Amethyst. "Yo Steven, did you get your schedule yet?" She asked, munching on whatever was being served for breakfast that morning. "Hi Amethyst, uh no I didn't." He answered. "See that large table over there? You have to stand in line and when it's your turn, say your name and the teacher will give you your schedule" she explained. Steven nodded "thanks Amethyst" he nodded before walking over to the table. 

It took well over 15 minutes since there was a long line, but in the end Steven received his schedule. He started to walk away from the table, engrossed in his schedule "hmm.... I have English first..." He spoke to himself. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of dark pink mixed with black until he accidentally walked into another student. He fell backwards after colliding with the student and fell onto his bottom. "Ouch..." He winced, rubbing his lower back until he heard what sounded like a growl. 

He opened his eyes to a fellow girl student who looked quite irritated. The girl had hot pink hair that was tied up in pigtails, a leather jacket that covered a black tank top that had an upside down heart in the middle, darker pink shorts with what looked like fishnet stockings, and black looking short combat boots. Her books, phone and papers scattered around them, a lot of the students stopped what they were doing and looked at the two on the ground. "I-i'm sorry..." Steven stammered his apology "h-here let me help you..." Steven stuttered, quickly gathering the girls papers together "I'm Steven, and you are?" He asked. "Someone that doesn't care..." She growled snatching whatever Steven had gathered and grabbing the rest of her belongings before trudging off. Steven was a bit taken aback from her words, her attitude really was what surprised him. 

He slowly got up and grabbed his schedule off the ground. Soon he was playfully punched in his shoulder from Amethyst who was laughing "well that's one way to meet a new student" she chuckled "don't worry about Spinel, she's always a sourhead." "I should head to class..." Steven mumbled, soon the bell rang for everyone to head to their classes. "See ya later!" Amethyst called out to Steven before heading in the opposite direction. Steven sighed, he adjusted his pink jacket before heading to his English class. He was one of the last to arrive, so the only seat left was one next to a student. That last seat was next to the girl he just met, Steven sighed as he realized he would be sitting next to Spinel.


	2. chp 2 (classmates?)

Steven sighed as he sat down in his seat, he heard a very soft "humph" from Spinel on his left. He looked over slowly from where he was sitting and noticed a few things that he didn't see from earlier. Steven saw that Spinel had heavy eye liner on, a more purplish pink eye shadow, mascara on her eye lashes and Steven even noticed she was wearing dark pink contacts. He looked away before spinel glanced over to look at the male, then she looked to the front as the teacher came into the classroom to start class. 

"Alright Class, I'm your teacher Sardonyx and I'll be teaching you all about Grammar today. But first we have a new student today and I'd like it if he could introduce himself" her British accent was clear but articulate. Steven gulped, feeling a bit nervous as he got up from his seat and walked to the front of his class, his pink flip flops were a bit audible. "Uh hi everyone, I'm Steven Universe, I've been homeschooled for most of my childhood and I'm just excited to see and meet you all" he smiled happily and sweetly. All but one student from the class gave a small clap, and that student was Spinel who looked quite bored and irritated. 

  
"Thank you Steven, now let's began class" Sardonyx stated as Steven made his way back to his seat, he slink back into his seat as Sardonyx started to talk about synonyms. Spinel at some point took out a lollipop and placed it in her mouth, not even bothering with taking notes or anything. Steven however was taking notes, but also drawing little doodles here and there. "In a couple weeks I'll be assigning a project for you all to do, and I'll be randomly picking partners, since there is an even amount of students in my class, the project will be completed in pairs" Sardonyx smiled as about half of the class gave a groan. 

After about an hour, the bell rang for everyone to head to their next class. Steven got up quickly, in which he didn't realize that Spinel was also getting up at the same time he was, so they accidentally bumped into each other. "I-I'm sorry again" Steven apologized, blushing a bit from embarrassment. "shut up" she hissed before leaving quickly. Steven gulped a little and hurried to his next class. 

Steven entered his second class which was science, he sat down in a seat that was a part of a large table, soon another girl sat down beside him. She wore large glasses, her blonde hair kinda combed up in a triangle of some sorts, and she wore a green hoodie. "Hi I'm Steven" he greeted, holding his hand out to shake. "Ah yes, Amethyst mentioned today was your first day, I'm Peridot" she returned the greeting by shaking his hand. "Oh you know Amethyst?" Steven asked. "Yes, you're purple haired friend was in my math class earlier" Peridot stated "she also mentioned that you encountered Spinel earlier, I'm surprised you're still standing" she finished. "Why is that?..." Steven asked, a bit concerned for his well being now. "Usually when someone pisses Spinel off, they usually end up with something broken" Peridot explained. Steven gulped "oh geez...." He whimpered before the science teacher came in to start the class.


	3. chp 3 (trust falling)

Science was easy with Peridot sitting next to Steven. The teacher was talking to quickly for Steven to understand at times, it amazed him that Peridot was even able to write down notes at all. Peridot lent Steven her notes for him to copy, bit she just needed them back at the end of the day in which Steven agreed. Steven slung his backpack onto his back before making his way to his third class, which was Physical Education. 

He entered the gym and sat on the bleachers, he was one of the first ones there so he decided to start copying the science notes. A few moments passed before someone sat a couple spots behind Steven, plopping her bag beside herself. Steven recognized that it was Spinel that sat behind him. He made no attempt to talk to her since Peridot's words rung in his head about what would happen if Spinel was pissed off. Spinel took out her phone and started texting someone as more students started to stream into the gym. One of those students was a very tall, muscular woman with slightly orange hair and her skin was various shades of skin tone which indicated that she had vitiligo. She sat right next to Steven, giving a type of intimidating vibe. "New guy huh?" She spoke, looking down at Steven. Steven gulped and looked up at the woman. She was wearing a white tank top with black exercise pants and tennis shoes to match. "Y-yea" he squeaked, feeling very small. "I'm Jasper" she gave a deep, but raspy chuckle "relax small fry I'm not gonna hurt you" Jasper reassured. "O-ok.... I'm Steven" he introduced himself, hesitantly holding his hand out for Jasper to shake. Jasper gave another chuckle before shaking his hand. Her grip was definitely something as it felt like she was going to crush his hand. "Why are you wearing flip flops in September?" Jasper asked "I usually wear flip flops since it's still warm, but I do have pink sneakers" Steven explained. 

There was a small snicker from behind, but when Steven looked back he saw Spinel was still texting on her phone. "Was she laughing at me?" Steven asked himself, deep in thought. His thoughts were soon interrupted by the PE teacher/coach that entered the gym. "Alright, I'm Sugilite, now instead of doing dodgeball like I wanted to, the principal has informed me that we shall be doing trust falls and other wimpy stuff. So look around you and whoever the hell you see is your partner" she barked. 

Every other student began to look for a partner, which in the end left Steven and Spinel to be the only one that hasn't found a partner yet. Spinel grunted as she got up from her spot and started to walk down the large bleachers. Steven got up from his spot as well and began making his way down the steps of the bleachers. As Spinel made her way down, she accidentally stepped on one of the straps of someone's backpack, causing her lose her footing and causing her to fall backwards. Steven heard her slip and turned around quickly, his instincts kicked in and he grabbed the front of Spinel's tank top to stop her from falling. "Uhm...." Steven gulped a little, realizing what he was doing. Spinel could feel her face heating up and quickly regained her footing. "Are you-" Steven was about to ask but Spinel quickly cut him off with an "I'm fine" before rushing past him, giving an accidental shove, so she can get off the bleachers.


	4. Chapter 4

After Gym it was lunch time, Steven was currently eating a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich. When it was a nice day out, like today for example, the students were allowed to eat outside. Amethyst was currently munching away on a pizza slice "soooooo how's your first day going?" She asked, basically inhaling whatever pizza she had left. Steven looked at her and sighed "it's alright I guess, classes are alright as well. Is high school always mentally exhausting?" He asked. "To some people yea, why did something happen?" Amethyst asked. "Just a lot of things I'm trying to process" Steven answered back, finishing his sandwich "hey you wanna hear the new song I've been working on?" Steven asked excitedly. "Sure man, I'm guessing you brought your ukulele?" She asked. Steven chuckled and reached for his backpack, the top of his ukulele sticking out from the top "you know I do~" he smiled before strumming it a little. He took a deep breath before playing his ukulele to the tune.

"I don't need you to respect me, I respect me  
I don't need you to love me, I love me  
But I want you to know you could know me  
If you change your mind  
If you change your mind  
If you change your mind  
Change your mind"

Once he was done singing, there was a loud cheer and clapping from his fellow students who chose to eat outside. Steven blushed a bit, he wasn't really expecting anyone else to pay attention to him besides Amethyst. 

Soon someone approached Steven from behind and tapped his shoulder. Steven turned to see a long and slender figure standing behind him. The girl had combed pink hair and seemed like she was wearing simple, but designer clothes. But what he noticed first was the eye patch on the girls left eye. "Excuse me, I wanted to say I enjoyed your singing. I'm Pearl" she introduced herself before sitting down next to him. Steven smiled from being complimented "thanks, I'm Steven, can I call you pink Pearl? I don't want to get confused since I already know a Pearl" he asked. "Oh I know who you are, Spinel told me about you" Pink Pearl stated "and yes you may, everyone already does since there's also a couple other Pearls in the school" she smiled. "Oh ok-wait you know Spinel?" Steven asked, a bit surprised at that fact "yes, even though we're not in the same classes, I am her only friend" Pink Pearl answered "also thank you for catching her during Gym class" she smiled softly. "Oh uh.....you're welcome" Steven replied. "Why is Spinel talking about me? Me and her barely know each other" Steven thought, his eyes glanced over to one of the trees that were outside. 

Spinel was sitting up against one a few yards away, but looked away from Steven quickly as she pulled out her phone. Steven thought he saw Spinel glaring at him "what's her problem?" He asked himself. Steven's thoughts were interrupted by Amethyst signature laughter, which was always loud. "You must've made an impression on her if she's talking about you Steven~" Amethyst teased, giving a little snort. Stevens face flushed a bit "u-uh....oh! I need to give Peridot her notes back!" Steven replied, standing up quickly with his things. "I'll see you in math Amethyst ok?" He told her before rushing off to find Peridot.


	5. chp 5 (confusion)

Steven looked around the cafeteria to see if he could find Peridot. He didn't see the familiar blonde hair from earlier so he decided to ask a fellow student. Steven approached a blue short haired girl that was just eating alone "excuse me....but do you know where Peridot might be?" He asked. The female looked up at Steven "Peridot? She usually hangs out in the library, you're the new guy yes? I'm Lapis Lazuli" she introduced herself, standing up from her spot. "Y-yea, my name is Steven" he introduced himself eagerly "um....I don't know where the library is at yet, can you please show me?" He asked, feeling like a young kid again, but more in an embarrassing way. "Mmmmm...sure I got nothing better to do" Lapis shrugged, she started to walk off in a direction with Steven in tow. 

After a couple minutes, Lapis opened one of the double doors, which revealed a very large library inside. Lapis and Steven entered the library, inside the library was various shelves that held various books, some semi-new computers, and large tables scattered around in which Peridot was sitting down at one. Lapis brought a finger up to her lips, imitating the "shush" motion before quietly sneaking up behind Peridot. Lapis suddenly brought her hands down on Peridot's shoulder, which startled the nerd in where she almost fell out of her seat. "Oh my stars don't do that Lazuli!" Peridot exclaimed as she became very flustered. "Oh, would you prefer if I surprised you in other ways?~" Lapis teased, her arms on Peridot's shoulder as she looked down at the blushing blonde. Peridot's blush darkened from her words "don't tease me like that~" Peridot smirked, leaning up a bit and kissing Lapis's nose quickly. 

"Ahem" Steven cleared his throat "Peridot? I have your notes" he stated, taking the notes out of his backpack. "Ah yes Steven, I hope my notes were informational enough for you" Peridot grabbed her notes from Steven's hand quickly "thank you for their quick return" "you're welcome, I have to get going so enjoy your time with your girlfriend ok?~" Steven smiled, semi teasing the two before leaving the library. 

Steven made his way down the empty hallway, his flip flops echoed in the linoleum hallway.   
He soon passed a closet in which he assumed it was one of the custodians closets, the door a bit ajar. The second that Steven passed the closet, the collar of his jacket was grabbed from behind, and he was then yanked into the dark closet. The door slammed shut, the clicking of the lock audible as he was slammed into one of the empty spaces of a wall. Steven was held against the wall, one hand pinning his hands up above his head as the light clicked on. Steven immediately gulped in fear as he realized that it was a pissed off Spinel that grabbed him. 

"What do you think you were doing?" She sneered, very close to him. "H-huh?" Steven stammered, he could smell something sweet which he presumed to be Spinel, but he also smelled the oh so faint smell of cigarette smoke. "You're an idiot, I meant you talking to Pearl. Pink Pearl!" She told him, practically shouting at him. "Wh-why is it a big deal?" Steven asked out of fear, but a little curiousity played a part in his question. Spinel seemed to be a bit more angered at his question and tightened her grip on his jacket and shirt. "She's my friend and mine alone!" She hissed. Steven looked into the pink eyes of Spinel, studying then carefully, he was hit with a wave of realization. "She's your only friend isn't she...?" Steven asked softly. Spinel's face drained of color "what?..." She asked, trying to keep her intimidation. 

Steven gave a small sigh and gently moved his hands out of her slackened grip "Pink Pearl is your only friend, I'm right aren't I?" Steven asked gently, keeping calm. Spinel huffed and looked away in defeat "why do you care?" She asked coldly. "Because....." Steven started, looking down at the ground before looking up at her with confidence on his face and stars in his eyes "I wanna be your friend!". Spinel looked at him confused before she started to laugh a bit "that's funny, that's a good joke~" she chuckled. Steven frowned a bit "it's not a joke" he huffed, he sounded dead serious. Spinel looked at Steven, now more confused, and a bit irritated "why?" she asked "just why?". Steven fixed the collar of his jacket a bit before answering her question "because....it seems like you want to be friends with someone new".

Steven then bent down and opened his backpack, he took out a piece of paper and pen before scribbling some numbers on it. "Here, this is my phone number. If you don't want to be friends with me then don't keep the number, but if you do then say something ok?" He asked, holding the piece of paper out to Spinel. Spinel looked down at his hand with the piece of paper in his clutch. She sighed before snatching it quickly from Steven's hand. Soon the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Steven zipped up his backpack and smiled softly and sweetly at Spinel "I'll see you later ok?" He waved before unlocking the door and leaving the closet. Spinel watched him walk away before looking down at the paper that had Steven's phone number on it. "What is wrong with me?.." she asked herself before folding up the piece of paper and putting it into the pocket of her leather jacket, she then left the closet before after turning the light off.


	6. chp 6 (questions with no answers)

Steven's last two classes weren't anything special, Amethyst cracked jokes during the class period that was math. Jasper was also in Steven's math class and was practically falling asleep at her desk. History was Steven's last class, and as he entered he noticed Spinel at the other end of the classroom. 

Steven decided to give her space and sat down on the opposite end of the room. Spinel glanced over at the male when he wasn't looking and sighed before checking her phone. Spinel noticed that she received a text from Pink Pearl, in which it read "did you talk to him?". Spinel sighed, knowing what "him" meant. "More or less" she replied "why do you ask?" Spinel finished before setting her phone down. A couple minutes passed before she received another text. "I'm asking because I wanted to invite him to your birthday party". "DONT YOU DARE!" Spinel replied, in all caps to matched her clearly pissed off mood. "I TOLD YOU EXACTLY THAT IM GOING TO A DIFFERENT PARTY AND THAT I DON'T CARE ABOUT MY BIRTHDAY". 

Spinel then stuffed her phone into her pocket as class started. "Welcome class, I'm Opal, and I will be randomly assigning partners for each week, but for this week I won't be doing that since it's the first week" Opal introduced herself before getting into American History. Spinel started to suck on another one of the lollipops she had with her. Steven took notes and honestly looked like one of those perfect school boy posters. Steven glanced over every now and then at Spinel, he also noticed that her ears were pierced in several places, which matched her punk/goth style. 

Soon class ended and Steven made his way out of the building along with the other students, Spinel being way ahead of him. As soon as Steven made it out of the doors, he received a text on his phone, which was from Pearl. "I'm sorry Steven, I have to work a late shift tonight and won't be able to make it in time to pick you up" was what the text read. Steven gave a small sigh before replying to Pearl saying that "it's ok, I can walk home". He pressed send and started to make his way back to his house. Steven was lucky as he didn't live to far away, maybe almost a mile from the school, but he'd still be a bit achy from walking all the way there. 

Steven saw a park and decided that he could use a shortcut and cut through the park so his trip home would be easier. Steven started to hum to himself as he walked through the park. He started to see a familiar figure in the distant, sitting on a park bench. As he got closer he realized it was Spinel, and she was smoking a cigarette. Spinel's leather jacket slipping off of her shoulders a bit a she blew smoke into the air. "Sp-Spinel? You're smoking?" Steven asked, surprising the female. "Where the hell did you.....were you following me??" She asked, well more like shouted at him. "N-no I was just walking home and I was cutting through the park" Steven explained quickly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Spinel scoffed and took another drag of her cigarette before giving another puff of smoke. "What do ya want?" She asked, a bit of a Brooklyn accent breaking through her voice. "W-well I just wanted to say hi..." Steven mumbled, sitting down carefully on the bench next to her. "If you only wanted to say hi, then why are you sitting down next to me?" Spinel asked, a bit annoyed by his kindness. "Well....uh....it seemed like you wanted some company..." Steven answered quietly, playing with the end of his jacket "but I also have a question...." He finished. Spinel looked away for a bit before sighing a bit "well? Ask away..." She replied. "Well.... Why did you tell Pink Pearl about what happened in gym? I thought you didn't really like me as much..." Steven explained. Spinel then whipped her head to look at Steven, looking very angry "why did she tell you?..." She growled, putting out her cigarette on the bench before tossing it away.

"I-i don't know, i-i was just as surprised as you are" Steven stammered, he began to scoot back from the angry Spinel. Spinel then lunged forward and grabbed the collar of Steven's shirt, as if she snapped. Steven trembled in fear for what Spinel might do to him. Spinel sneered for a bit, before she let out a type of scoffed laughter before giggling madly "you should see the look on your face!~" she laughed a bit before getting up. "A word of advice Universe, Don't get on my bad side..." She glanced at him "or you'll get hurt..." Spinel finished before walking away. Steven panted a bit, his heart pounding in his chest as he watched her walk away. Steven gulped a bit, but was more confused then anything. Not only that but Spinel never answered his question, instead he had more questions that he desperately wanted answers for. "Why is she so angry? What just happened? Why does she act this way? What happened.....to her?" He asked himself. "Who hurt her so badly?...."


	7. chp 7 (confusion part 2)

Steven quickly made his way into the house that he lived in. His house was small but large enough to house several people if necessary. Steven sighed as he hung his back pack up on a hook by the door and made his way to the living room after locking the door behind him. 

Steven plopped onto the couch in exhaustion before checking his phone, he then saw he got a text from Connie which said "hey, how was your first day?". Steven smiled and replied with a "exhausting to be honest, a lot of things happened today. What about you?". Connie replied after a few minutes with a "as well as any school day can be, to bad we don't go to the same high school." Steven gave a yawn before Connie sent an additional text, which read "so what happened? I'm dying to know~". Steven then proceeded to type a very long text about what happened during the day, in which he sent. About a half hour went by before Connie responded, and during that time Steven turned on the TV to watch an old dogcopter movie. The text read "That's freaking crazy, you didn't get hurt did you?". Steven smiled a little from Connie's concern over his well being. "Yea I'm alright, I don't get hurt so easily remember?" Steven chuckled to himself before hitting send. Steven didn't get a reply back and laid his phone on his chest. 

Soon his tummy grumbled, indicating that he wanted a snack. He got up and made his way to the kitchen where he opened up a bag of chaps and began to snack on them. Soon the click of the front doors lock sounded, and in walked a tall female that was wearing very dark sunglasses and had a very large afro. "Garnet! How was your day?" Steven called from the kitchen, excited to see a familiar face. Garnet gave a small chuckle "it was good, you had quite a day didn't you?" She asked, placing her purse on the table before sitting down at the table. Steven gave a large sigh before sitting across from Garnet "very, can I tell you if you promise to not tell Pearl?" He asked gently, scratching his scalp. "You know I won't tell" she replied, her face emotionless but her voice filled with care. Steven then proceeded to tell her the crazy day he had, he also explained why there might be the smell of smoke on him which he didn't notice till he told Garnet about the events of today. "Mmmm, that is quite the day, and you gave this girl Spinel your number?" Garnet asked. "Yea I did....I think she needs a friend, Pink Pearl is her only friend...." Steven explained, resting his forehead on the table. "Well we should probably get that smell off you, or we can tell Pearl that you sat next to me while I was smoking, she doesn't mind me doing that anyways" Garnet shrugged. "Let me just get this jacket going in the wash and I'll take a shower ok?" Steven explained, taking his jacket off. "Very well, I'll go make dinner" Garnet replied, getting up from the table and heading to the fridge. 

Steven got up from the table and went to the laundry room, he threw his jacket in the washer along with a few other clothes, and started the washer. Steven then made his way to his bathroom, which was connected inside his bedroom. 

A few streets away....

Spinel entered her small, two bedroom house. She new that Pink Pearl wouldn't be home for a while since she had to to go to work right after school. Spinel sighed as she closed the door using a back kick from her boot. She then walked to her bedroom and shut the door. Spinel plopped down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. Her mind started to replay the events of today, in the end she snapped at Steven, she hadn't snapped in a long time. Spinel sat up and grabbed her pigtails in frustration, shouting to match her mood. "WHY WHY WHY WHY?!?!" she screamed at herself. 

Spinel's mind shot back to what happened in the custodians closet. She had meant to intimidate Steven into leaving her and Pink Pearl alone, but instead Steven scared her. Steven saw right through her built up walls through a little crack that wasn't filled in, and his words were like a giant mallet. The mallet didn't do much except make that crack larger. Spinel began to giggle to herself maniacally, she'd had to fill that crack before it became even larger and soon fall down. She then removed her leather jacket in which a piece of paper fell out from. Spinel saw the piece of paper fall out from the pocket and subconsciously picked it up quickly. She shook her head before unfolding the piece of paper, Steven's phone number written in his slightly cursive handwriting, with an adorable smiley face at the end. Spinel looked at the phone number, her thumb rubbing the smiley face a little. She sighed and figured it wouldn't hurt to have his phone number in her phone, she probably wouldn't use it anyways for along while. Spinel chuckled to herself as she put Steven's contact name as "Ass Star".


	8. chp 8 (no matter what)

A few days have passed since the first day of high school for Steven, and so far it was a lot easier for Steven. He did notice a few things about his classmates. For one, it seems that Jasper and Lapis weren't on the best of terms, but it seemed that Jasper and Peridot were good friends. He did meet the two other Pearls, Blue Pearl seemed more quiet while Yellow Pearl seemed more stuck up, but they seemed to be best friends. Steven did notice that Spinel seemed to cut class every now and then, whether it was English or History, however he always spent lunch with Amethyst in which Lapis and Peridot joined them.

In between his math and History class, Steven noticed a flier in one of the hallways, showing that there were auditions for a musical that was being put together by the drama club. Steven became excited and asked Amethyst to accompany him in which she reluctantly did. After classes were over, Steven and Amethyst made their way to the large auditorium, in where there were many students gathered. Some spots of the auditorium were dark but the stage was lit up very brightly, the drama teacher was sitting in the front row taking notes about each individual participant. Steven sat down in one of the dark seats, as the numbers of participants dwindled down, Steven saw a face that he wasn't expecting to see which was Spinel. The drama teacher gave her a song to sing, Spinel sighed a little, looking a bit nervous. She took a deep breath and regained her calmness.

"That's right I heard the story over and over again  
Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends  
That's right I heard the story, don't really like how it ends  
Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends"

As Spinel sang into the microphone, Steven watched Spinel perform, he smiled a little as he enjoyed her singing.

"What did she say about me? What did she say?  
What did you do without me? What did you do?  
Did you play games without me? What did you play?  
Did you think all this time that I wouldn't find out about you?

Oh that's right I heard the story over and over again  
Gee, it's swell to finally meet her other friends

Who am I? Who am I? What are you even saying?  
I'm the loser of the game you didn't know you were playing!  
Let's play another game, this time I get to win  
Lives on the line  
Winner takes all  
Ready or not  
Let's begin!

Oh, that's right I heard the story over and over again  
Gee, it's swell to finally beat her other friends  
Oh, that's right I heard the story, don't really like how it ends  
Gee, it's swell to finally beat her other  
Other  
Other friends"

After Spinel was done singing, she began to walk off the stage, then she heard someone clapping. Spinel looked up to see Steven clapping and cheering for her performance. Spinel blushed madly before taking a seat in the auditorium, a far way off from where Steven was standing. She wasn't expecting anyone but the drama teacher to see her sing, and of all people, it was Steven who had to see her. Soon Steven made his way down to the stage, dragging Amethyst with him. Steven requested he do a song in which the drama teacher complied with his request, he then brought Amethyst onto the stage to duet with him in which he began to sing with Amethyst in tow

"In the light of the day  
In the dark of the night  
When you're raring to go  
When you're tired from the fight  
When you're losing you're mind  
Let me give you a thought  
I'm gonna be right be right your side no matter what  
In the dark of the night  
In the dark of the night  
In the light of the day  
In the light of the day  
When you're rising to shine  
When you're rising to shine  
When you're hitting the hay

When you're hitting the hay

I'll be hanging around

I'll be hanging around

If you like it or not

If you like it or not

I'm gonna be right by your side no matter what!

No matter what

No matter what

No matter what

No matter what

No matter what

No matter what  
No matter what

No matter what

Oh, I'm gonna be

Oh, I'm gonna be

Right by your side

Right by your side

I'm gonna be right by your side no matter what

In the dark of the night  
In the light of the day  
When you're rising to shine  
When you're hitting the hay

Just remember this song

How's it go?  
I forgot

I'm gonna be right by your side no matter what

Through whoever you've been

Through whoever you've been

Through whoever you'll be

Through whoever you'll be

Through whatever you lose

Through whatever you lose

You will always have me

You will always have me

At the end of your road

At the end of your road

I'll be holding you taught

I'll be holding you taught

I'm gonna be right by your side no matter what  
Be right by your side  
Be right by your side  
Be right by your side no matter what"

As Steven sang with Amethyst, his flip flops acted like tap shoes. After he was done he walked off the stage to find that Spinel left the second he was done. Steven told Amethyst to go on her way now and he ran off to find Spinel. He looked around for a bit but couldn't find her. Steven sighed as he began to make his way back to the front after he found himself behind the school. He saw a small puff of smoke coming from a few nearby trash cans, and he decided to go look. Steven smiled a little as he found Spinel smoking another cigarette by a few trash cans, he also noticed that this spot was pretty isolated "Sp-Spinel?" He called to her softly. Spinel didn't react much to Steven besides glancing up at him"what the hell do ya want?" She asked. Steven sat down beside her "I wanted to tell you that I thought you sang well" Steven complimented, not minding the smell of the trash. "Yea right" Spinel huffed before taking another drag of her cigarette "Pink Pearl suggested that I should audition to be busy.....I see now that it was stupid to do..." "No it wasn't! I thought you did really well!" Steven stated loudly, getting frustrated at her attitude. Spinel sneered at him before putting out her cigarette dangerously close to Steven's hand. "Don't shout at me..." She hissed at him, sitting up straighter now. "Well I'm getting irritated at the fact that you put yourself down! You have confidence in intimidating everyone, why don't you have confidence in yourself?!" Steven exclaimed. Spinel shook with rage as her eyes shot daggers at him. Steven kept his posture and his bravery shown on his face. 

This angered Spinel even more and she threw a punch at Steven. Steven's quick reflexes kicked in and he grabbed one of the plastic trashcan lids and used it as a shield while Spinel continued to attempt to punch him. "STOP! CARING! ABOUT! MY! WELL! BEING! DAMN IT!" she shouted in between her punches. After a few cracks of Spinel's knuckles on the trash can lid, Steven realized that she wasn't mad, but frustrated. Was she frustrated at him? Or herself? He didn't know exactly. Soon the punches from Spinel's slowed down as the lid began to crack. Soon a heavy weight leaned against the trashcan lid, Steven heard a few sobs and a few grimaced chuckles were audible. 

He lowered the trashcan lid and saw that Spinel was crying softly. "so funny....the new guy caring for me...a broken person..." Spinel laughed as tears streamed down her face, her mascara flowing down her cheeks. "Sp-Spinel?... Who hurt you?..." Steven asked softly, a bit shocked to see her crying. Spinel's pink eyes met Stevens brown eyes for a few seconds before she closed her eyes and shook her head. She then got up quickly and ran off in a direction. Steven didn't follow her as he was still shocked. He set the trashcan lid down and winced a little, his arm achy from taking the impact of the punches through the trashcan lid and from holding up the lid for to long. After a few moments, Stevens mind set into reality and he shook his head. He felt a raindrop fall into his nose, then another pattered onto his hand. Steven got up quickly and began to look for Spinel, he felt like he had to apologize for setting her off like that.


	9. chp 9 (by your side)

Damp, cold, angry, frustration, confusion, scared, and fear ran through Spinel's mind as she continued to run. The rain started to pour down a little heavier as she ran. Her chest started to hurt from running for so long. Breath, I have to breath, I have to... Spinel's mind snapped back to reality just in time for her to trip and fall on the pavement, the palm of her hands being scrapped from the impact along with her knee. 

Spinel's face was red as she panted, she winced as she slowly stood up. Her senses started to come back to her, and she then felt pain. Pain from scrapping her hands and knees, pain from her lungs lacking oxygen, emotional, and mental pain. Spinel slowly made her way to a bench, shivering and cursing at herself for forgetting to grab her jacket for the day. Why was I running? Wait....why am I crying?... She asked herself, her fingers slowly going over her cheek and she pulled them away, revealing that her fingertips were stained with her makeup. Spinel turned her hand over and noticed that her knuckles were red from her blood, and slightly swollen. Was I punching something earlier?.... She asked herself quietly. Spinel closed her eyes and tried to think back to earlier that afternoon. She remembered Steven coming to sit with her, she remembered that he was frustrated at her for putting herself down. Then the next thing she knew, she blacked out for a bit. 

Spinel tried her best to see if something happened when she blacked out, one thing she heard was someone asking her a question. Spinel gasped a little as she suddenly remembered that it was Steven asking who hurt her. She shivered as she became even colder and soaked from the rain. Her large pink pigtails hung low from the water, her black long sleeved shirt that was worn underneath her dark pink t-shirt that had a black skull on it, and her black shorts becoming even more soaked. The black and pink striped stockings that she wore were ripped and her knee bleeding a bit. Spinel figured that she should get up soon and make her way home, but whimpered from the pain. 

Soon the rain stopped falling on her, she looked up from the ground and noticed that someone was holding an umbrella above her head. She looked to her right and noticed that Steven was holding an umbrella, that had a rose decal on it, over the both of them. Steven was also a bit red in the face and panting softly, as if he was running. "Are you ok?..." The first words coming out of him, in which Spinel responded by looking away. Steven then sat on the wet bench, not caring if his pants got wet. Spinel continued to look away until she felt something on her head, it was then she noticed that Steven removed his jacket and placed it on her head in a comforting way. "Let me see your hands?..." Steven asked softly, removing his back pack and pulling out a few Band-Aids. Spinel shivered as she looked at him slowly, she then turned to face him completely and held her hands out to him. Steven handed her the handle of the umbrella, in which she reluctantly took. Steven then took one of Spinel's hands in his hand and observed her scraps on that hand.

BA-DUMP

Spinel's face seemed a bit surprised, she just.....felt something....and it kinda scared her a bit. Steven proceeded to apply the band-aids to her palm and knuckle. Soon the same was done to her other hand. "Sorry, this might be a bit weird but your knee is bleeding..." Steven stated softly before kneeling in front of her and beginning to pull her stocking down. Spinel blushed a bit from his bluntness, and was surprised he'd do this without another thought. 

"I'm sorry...." Steven spoke softly "I'm sorry for making you angry at me, I didn't mean to...." He apologized before applying the band-aid to her knee. Spinel seemed a bit confused at his words, it was then that she suddenly realized that she blacked out on him and possibly have punched him many times. "I'm sorry for punching you..." Spinel whimpered her apology. Steven looked up at her before standing up and sitting back down next to her. "It's ok, I'm just lucky I grabbed that trash can lid before your fists hit my face" he chuckled softly. "I didn't punch you directly?..." Spinel asked softly. "No....wait, you don't remember?" Steven asked, a bit surprised. "No, no I-I....I sometimes black out when I get too angry and...." Spinel's words trailed off and she looked away at the rain. Spinel thought for a minute, something was different about her blackout. Usually when she blacked out, it was because she was pissed at someone, but this time she realized that she was angry at herself. 

"Do you need a tissue?..." Steven asked, indicating that it looked like she was about to cry again. Spinel shook her head in response, which meant no. Steven gave a small sigh before looking at the falling rain "do you want to talk about it?..." He asked gently. "No...." Spinel replied softly, she definitely didn't want to get into that topic just yet. Steven looked at her gently for a few seconds "do you want me to walk you home?.." he asked gently as he stood up. Spinel refused to look at him, but responded with shaking her head yes. Steven held his hand out for Spinel to take, in which she reluctantly agreed to do.

BA-DUMP

There was that feeling again and Spinel grabbed Stevens hand when she stood up. She kept a straight face, but inside her mind, she was more confused then anything. What was this feeling? At the moment she didn't even know. Steven wrapped his arms around Spinel's shoulders and held her close to him as they walked so they'd have enough space to be protected from the downpour. After about twenty minutes or so, the two of them arrived at Spinel's house. Spinel limped up her porch with Steven following from behind. 

"Will you be ok for now?" Steven asked, collapsing his umbrella since they were in the cover of the front porch canopy. Spinel nodded in response "thanks..." She replied before heading to the front door. "I'll see you tomorrow right?" Steven asked, watching her walk to the door. For once, that idea didn't mind Spinel at all. "Yea...see ya tomorrow" she replied before heading inside. Steven watched her disappear into the house before giving a sigh and making his way down the front porch, and starting his trek back home. 

Spinel sighed as she leaned back onto the front door from inside her house, she then felt a fabric that was foreign to her. Her hands reached up and she then felt a comforting fabric and buttons. Spinel gave a soft gasp as she pulled Stevens jacket off of her head. It seemed that both Steven and Spinel forgot about the jacket, or did Steven let her wear it for the time being.? Spinel stared at the pink fabric, and then proceeded to put it on. It felt very comfortable, but calming as she stuck her arms through the appropriate sleeves. She hugged the jacket close to her chest, not even bothering to button it up. The thought of her needing to return the jacket soon saddened her, but at the same time she knew she had to do the right thing. If there was one thing that she wasn't, she wasn't a thief. Spinel sighed as she limped to her room, not bothering to come out for the rest of the evening.


	10. chp 10 (whoops)

There you are! Where have you been?" Pearl asked as soon as Steven entered the house, anyone could tell that she was a bit hysterical at the moment "and what happened to your jacket???". Steven collapsed his umbrella and put it in the bucket where umbrella's go "after I auditioned for the musical, I had to go comfort my friend Spinel" Steven answered honestly "she was cold and wet from the rain so I gave her my jacket for the evening" he finished. "Oh yes, how did the audition go? Amethyst helped you I heard" Pearl asked, drinking some tea to calm herself down a bit. "I think it went well, I'm guessing Amethyst is here?" Steven asked, taking off his wet flip flops at the door. "Yes she is, she's eating your snacks at the TV" Pearl chuckled in response.  
  
Steven made his way to the living room and saw Amethyst flopped on the couch, sloppily eating his chaps. "Yo Ste-man, where'd you go? You rushed off so quickly I couldn't find you anywhere" she asked, looking up at Steven from her position. Steven sighed in response "Spinel is what happened, she rushed off and I went to go compliment her. She became upset and ran away, in which I gave chase and found her in the rain. I walked her home and left my jacket with her for the night" he explained, plopping onto the couch. "Awwwww you're such a sweetheart, I bet you swept her off of her feet~" Amethyst teased, giving a little snort as she chuckled. "No, I don't think I did, but she seemed a bit more open to me..." He replied softly, a blush dusting his cheeks. "Yeah yeah, I like my version better. Anyways I gotta use your bathroom sooooo..." Amethyst rolled off the couch and headed to the bathroom. 

As soon as Amethyst entered the bathroom, she saw what she believed to be Pearls shampoo and smirked a mischievous grin. She pulled a bottle of pink hair dye from her pocket and poured the small bottle into the shampoo and gave it a good shake. After Amethyst was done using the bathroom, she went back to find Steven shivering on the couch. "Dude, go take a warm shower or something, you're totally freezing!" She exclaimed. Steven's teeth chartered a little "yea ok...." He replied before standing up, and heading to the bathroom.

About twenty minutes had passed and Garnet had arrived home at this point. Soon there was an audible scream coming from the bathroom and Steven rushed down the stairs in a bit of a frenzy. "M-MY H-HAIR!!!" Steven shouted as he rushed into the living room, his dark brown curly hair now a hot pink mess. Amethyst was now a laughing mess "aw man, I thought that shampoo was Pearls! It's a good look for you!" She laughed, practically wheezing. "MY STRAWBERRY SCENTED SHAMPOO IS CONTAMINATED!!" Steven shouted in disbelief and frustration. "AMETHYST!" Pearl shouted at Amethyst in a scolding way. "Heyyyy don't worry, it'll come out in a couple weeks~" Amethyst giggled, snorting a bit. "COUPLE WEEKS??" Steven exclaimed, dropping to his knees. "It's a good look for you Steven, maybe we should get your ear pierced~" Amethyst teased. "AMETHYST!" Pearl shouted again. "Dude I'm joking, maybe Spinel might like your new look~" Amethyst teased again. Steven blushed a bit from her comment. "I think a piercing might be a good idea" Garnet stated her opinion from the kitchen. "No no, no piercing please, the hair thing is enough." Steven groaned. "Wait wait wait..." Amethyst quickly sat up from her seat and took a picture of the discouraged Steven and his newly dyed hair "that one's going online~" she chuckled. 

Before Steven could snatch the phone from the short, purple haired female, she had already pressed upload on her phone. Now Stevens photo could be seen all around the world. "AMETHYST!" this time both Steven and Pearl shouted. "Whoops gotta go!" Amethyst laughed before hurrying out of the house. 

A few hours had passed since Amethyst uploaded the photo. Pink Pearl had just arrived home and sat on the couch. She began to scroll through her social media page and saw that Amethyst uploaded a new post. She clicked on the notification, widened her eyes, and began doubling over in laughter. "Sp-Spinel c-come s-see th-this!" Pink Pearl gasped in laughter. Spinel groaned as she got up from her bed, lollipop in her mouth already as she made her way to the living room. Spinel seemed a bit surprised, she hadn't seen Pink Pearl laugh this hard in a long time. "Wow, something's happened to make you laugh this much? I wanna see~" she smirked, plopping down beside her friend. Pink Pearl was in a fit of giggles, wiping tears out of her eyes as she handed Spinel her phone. Spinel took the phone from Pink Pearls hand and looked at the photo, the photo was captioned "Steven became the accidental victim of my prank~". 

Spinel sputtered and she began to laugh along with Pink Pearl, "oh my fucking god!" She laughed. "Poor Steven, it's to funny though..." Spinel thought as she laughed. As soon as her laughter died down, she studied the photo a bit, it looked like Steven was about to scramble forward, she assumed it was about him about to grab Amethyst's phone. "Hmm, if it wasn't for his facial expression in the photo, I'd say it looks good on him~" Spinel snickered. She then mentally slapped herself "The fuck did I just say? THE FUCK DID I SAY??" She repeatedly screamed in her mind. 

"I agree, pink suits him best" Pink Pearl nodded in agreement, oblivious to Spinel's comment. Spinel breathed a sigh of relief before getting up and started to head back to her bedroom. "Hey wait a second....Spinel? Isn't that Stevens Jacket?" Pink Pearl asked, pointing to the signature pink jacket that was on Spinel's torso. "U-uh yea, I was caught in the rain and he lent it to me so I'd be warm. I'm going to return it tomorrow... " Spinel mumbled an explanation. "Then....why are you wearing it still?" Pink Pearl asked. "It's....very comfy..." Spinel mumbled an answer before hurrying back to her salvation of a room. Spinel locked the door behind her and plopped onto the bed, screaming into her pillow in frustration.


	11. chp 11 (an experience)

Steven, for the first time, dreaded going to school. He wore an oversized stocking cap that he borrowed from Garnet to cover his curly pink hair. Steven walked into the school and tried to quickly make his way to English class but was put into a noogie hold by no one other than Jasper. She yanked the hat off of him and gave him a noogie "don't hide your hair small fry, it's a good look~" she laughed. Steven laughed a bit playfully from receiving the noogie. "That cheered you up quickly~" Jasper chuckled, soon releasing the pink haired male "Amethyst told me that I should get a piercing, I'm not going to, at least not for a long while..." Steven chuckled awkwardly. "You should, probably, just one though, many guys have at least one piercing" Jasper smirked. "I'm still on the fence, thanks for cheering me up Jasper" Steven smiled. "My sister figured you'd need cheering up after being pranked by accident." Jasper stated, leaning against the wall. "Wait.... Amethyst is your sister?" Steven asked surprised, those two barely looked alike at all. "Yea....well half sister" Jasper shrugged "run along small fry" she told him as the bell rang. 

Steven grabbed the hat and put it back on, he then hurried to his class. Steven quickly sat down at his seat and laid his head down to rest on his arms. He then felt someone poke his shoulder and he looked up a bit, seeing that it was Spinel. "Hey...." She greeted before sitting next to him "I saw the picture". Steven groaned as he buried his head further into his arms. Spinel chuckled and took the hat off him "you're gonna get overheated" she chuckled "pink suits you best you know?" She asked, a little bit of kindness in her words. Steven sat up a bit when the hat was removed, he gave a small playful pout at Spinel. Spinel's face heated up, but didn't flush at all. "How're you feeling?" Steven asked. Spinel had her usual hairstyle and make up on, but this time she was wearing a dark pink t-shirt with an black upside down heart on her chest, black fingerless gloves to cover up her hands, and black pants that were ripped mid thigh and mid shin. "Yea, I'm a bit better, thank you.... you know....for yesterday...." She answered quietly. 

Spinel grabbed her back pack and reached into it, pulling Stevens jacket out. "Here, I tossed it into the dryer since it was wet" she explained as she handed the jacket back to Steven. Steven's eyes had stars in them as he smiled. He grabbed his jacket and put it on "thanks~" Steven smiled as soon as the bell rang for class to start. 

The moment Sardonyx had her back turned to the class to write something on the white board, Spinel quickly scribbled out a note and placed it on Stevens desk. Steven being his curious self, opened the folded piece of paper, in which it read "why did you lent me your jacket?". Steven scribbled on a different piece of note and handed it to Spinel when Sardonyx had her back turned again. She unfolded the piece of paper which read "my jacket always comforted me during bad times, and I figured that it'd help you feel comforted." Which was Stevens response. 

BA-DUMP

Spinel felt that same feeling in her chest again. Her face blushed a bit when she read the note. Spinel glanced over to Steven a little, in which he gave his signature kind smile. "Alright class, I'll be assigning partners for an upcoming project on proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Now when I say assign, I mean I'll be randomly assigning partners for said project." Sardonyx stated, turning to look back at the class. She immediately noticed Spinel and Steven being kind to each other, and decided to have a little bit of fun. "Spinel, Steven, since you seem so social, I'll assign you two together" she chuckled. Spinel immediately looked up at the teacher, slightly pisses off from her teachers actions. Steven seemed a bit confused at why Spinel seemed mad but decided not to bring it up. 

The school day passed quickly, and Steven convinced Spinel to come work on the project with him at his house. Spinel reluctantly agreed and started their trek back to his house. As they cut through the park, Steven heard small barking coming from the bushes. "Hey did you hear that?" Steven asked, stopping in his tracks. "What? The barking?" Spinel asked, looking up from her phone as she soon stopped in her tracks. "Yea..." Steven replied, looking in the bushes. "Steven I'm not sure it's a good idea to look through a random bush..." Spinel stated, approaching him slowly from behind. Steven let out a small gasp along with a whimper. "Sp-Spinel come look!" He stated quietly. Spinel gave a small sigh, and looked in the bushes with him. Inside the bushes was a corgi, and it gave a small bark at them before darting out of the bushes. 

"After him!" Steven announced before running after the dog. Spinel seemed a bit shocked from how fast the male could run, but she just watched him run off until she reluctantly ran after him. The dog thought that they were playing and continued to run around, Steven fell a couple times into the mud trying to catch the corgi. After about a half hour of trying to catch the dog, Spinel soon lunged and tackled the dog into the mud. Her clothes and hair now covered in mud, Steven was also in the same state, and he accidentally slipped and fell onto his butt in the mud. Spinel looked at him and started to laugh at how much mud covered him.

BA-DUMP

Steven felt his heart leap into his throat upon hearing her laughter. He soon began to join in laughing with her. "I wasn't expecting to get that much exercise outside of P.E" she joked before getting up with the corgi in her arms. "Yea, that was fun~" he smiled "I can carry him if you want?" Steven asked, holding his hands out to grab the corgi. Spinel gave a smirk before handing the corgi over to Steven. Soon they started to walk to Stevens house, in which Steven let the corgi go in his backyard. 

Spinel was in awe from how big the house seemed. "I didn't see a collar on the dog, I'll make posters about finding a lost dog later. Right now, I think we both need a shower" he chuckled "I'll have Pearl wash our clothes later ok?" He stated. "Uh.....well.....ok, I guess..." Spinel hesitantly responded. "Ok, I do have a bathroom attached to my room if that makes you feel more comfortable?" He suggested. "Sometimes I don't use it so it's up to you...". Spinel thought about it for a minute and nodded, Steven then lead her up to his room and opened the door. His room seemed basic, pale blue paint for his walls with the bedding to match. A TV set up in front of his bed with a few video games and a DVD player for movies to play on. He also had a wardrobe, a desk, a couple chairs, and a dresser to match the rest of his furniture.

"Let me get you a couple pieces of clothing that you can change into" he explained, walking to his dresser and pulling out an oversized t-shirt and sweatpants that were to small for him, for Spinel to wear. "Thanks..." She nodded as Steven laid the clothing on his bed. Steven then grabbed clothes for him to wear "do you need anything else?" He asked. Spinel shook her head "no I think I'm alright....uh....thanks again...." She replied before quickly going into the bathroom. Steven sighed as he went to the spare bathroom in the hallway, tossing his old shampoo away since he'd have to borrow Pearls shampoo for now. 

After about a half hour, Spinel called from Stevens room "hey Steven, do you have a hair dryer I can borrow?" She asked, shouting really since she was upstairs. "Yea I can check!" Steven answered back. He went to Garnet's room and borrowed her hair dryer, knowing that Garnet wouldn't have minded since he borrowed it every now and then. Steven then ran up to his room to quickly deliver the hair dryer. Out of habit, he opened his door since it was his room and he wasn't really thinking. "Hey Spinel, I grabbed Garnet's hairdryer so please be-" he stopped talking as he stopped in his tracks. Spinel's pink hair was hanging down wet on one of Stevens old shirts, in which seemed big on Spinel's figure. The sweatpants hugged her legs gently in a comfortable way. "Oh my god......" Steven gulped "ahhh my heart, this is adorable!!!!". Steven squeeled "you're so adorable with your hair down!" Spinel blushed and looked away "shut up and hand me the hair dryer" she huffed in annoyance. Steven then handed her the hair dryer and sat on his bed. After a few minutes Spinel was done blow-drying her hair, she sat down next to Steven and was putting her hair up in her signature two ponytails. "Steven I'm home!" Pearl announced, in a few seconds she made her way up to Stevens room and knocked. "Come in!" Steven stated. "I bought food for us to have spaghetti tonight and-" Pearl stopped speaking as she looked at the two. "Who is this and why is she wearing your clothes?!?!" Pearl asked hysterically, taking things out of context.


	12. chp 12 (study buddies)

A half hour has passed since Pearl started bombarding Steven with questions, Steven tried to answer them but Pearl asked to quickly to let him finish. Spinel did try to interject every now and then, but was completely ignored. "Guys I-" Spinel was once again interrupted and she finally had enough. She grabbed one of Stevens pillows and swung it hard at Pearl a couple times, knocking the tall female back a bit. "SHUUUUUT UP!" Spinel screamed at Pearl "LET HIM EXPLAIN!" Steven then took this opportunity to quickly explain what had happened. 

Pearl was definitely surprised from being hit by Spinel, she wasn't expecting anything like that before. As soon as Steven was done, Pearl regained her composure with a small and tired sigh, she placed her hand on her face before speaking. "I'm sorry I jumped the gun, Steven you're only 17 years old and I assumed that.....well you know..." Pearl apologized softly. "I do know, and it's ok, maybe you should have some tea to relax" Steven suggested after giving Pearl a hug. "Yes you're right, I definitely need some tea" Pearl chuckled, returning Stevens hug. After Pearl released Steven from her arms, she began to walk out of the room "the both of you, good luck on the homework" she smiled and waved before completely leaving the room. Steven sighed a bit in relief "thanks Spinel, I owe you one" he smiled at her. "I just got tired of her squawking and had enough..." She sighed, plopping back onto Stevens bed. "Ready to get started?" Steven asked, sitting at his desk and patting the empty chair next to him. Spinel gave an irritated groan before sitting up, and getting up to make her way to the chair. 

During the next couple hours, Steven and Spinel worked on the PowerPoint for their English project. Spinel, after a bit, rested her head on her arms, and accidentally dozed off while Steven was organizing the PowerPoint slides on the laptop that rested on his desk. Steven noticed this after he received no answer to a question he had, and smiled a little as he decided to let her sleep for a bit. Spinel looked quite peaceful as she slept, but about a half hour later, tears began to stream down her face along with whatever eyeliner she still had on from the shower. Steven didn't notice this until he heard a faint whimper, followed along with a small "n-no please...." from Spinel. Steven whipped his head around to see Spinel crying in her sleep. He gently laid his hand on her shoulder and softly shook her "hey Spinel, wake up..." Steven spoke quietly, in where it worked after several attempts. 

Spinel's eyes shot open and met Stevens brown eyes, giving a heavy blush in embarrassment. "You were having a bad dream, are you ok?" Steven asked as Spinel sat up a bit, his hand resting on her cheek and his thumb wiping away the eyeliner tears. "No.....I'm not ok..." Spinel admitted, slightly nuzzling his hand. Steven's other hand reached up to her cheek and cupped her face a bit "do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly, trying to comfort her. Spinel felt that same feeling in her chest again. That gooey, warm fuzzy feeling that scared her every time, Steven kept knocking down her walls faster than she can put them back up again. Spinel closed her eyes and shook her head lightly "n-no...." She whimpered her answer. Steven gave a small frown, and sighed before reaching over his desk, and grabbing a tissue. He gently began to wipe away the tears on her cheek, still cupping her face with his other hand. Spinel's hand reached up, she intended to remove the hand that was wiping her tears away, but unexpectedly she pressed his hand onto her face again, now cupping his hand as she nuzzled into the warmth coming from his hand. Steven's heart jumped into his throat again, not expecting Spinel to even do what she just did. Spinel continued to hold Stevens hand to her face before she began to tear up again. 

Steven noticed that Spinel was holding back her tears and pouted a little, he then brought her head to rest on his chest, hugging her in the process. Calling Spinel surprised was an understatement, she tried to gently push away from Steven but his hug remained firm. "I'm gonna stain your shirt...." Spinel chuckled, attempting a lame excuse to escape his grip. "It's just a shirt, your feelings are more important at the moment..." Steven stated, continuing to hug Spinel to himself. Spinel blushed a bit, but it didn't last long since she began to cry again. She clung to the fabric of his light blue shirt, her tears staining the clothing as she buried her face into his chest. After a few minutes, Stevens hug slackened a bit as Spinel sat up. She grabbed a couple tissues to wipe the rest of her tears away, looking away a bit. Steven brought his hand up to Spinel's chin and gently moved her head to look at the pink haired boy "how do you feel?..." He asked gently. Spinel gave a sniffle before sighing in defeat "a little bit better....." She admitted, looking into his eyes before looking away. 

"I think we should stop for today, what do you think?" Steven asked Spinel as he saved their PowerPoint and closed his laptop. "Yea...." Spinel replied, although she didn't want to admit it, but she really didn't want to go just yet. "Do you want to have dinner with us?" Steven asked, sounding very hopeful as he looked at Spinel. "Dinner?" Spinel asked, looking surprised. She then began to giggle a bit "how funny, you actually want me for dinner?" She laughed a little, thinking that was a cruel joke. Steven sighed a bit, he hated it when Spinel does this to herself "why do you think I'm kidding?" He asked gently "please have dinner with us...." He whined those last few words. Spinel stopped giggling when she heard him whine "you're not joking?..." She asked softly. "No I'm not.... please have dinner with me, Pearl and Garnet?" He asked again. Spinel looked away a little before looking at him again "ok, I'll have dinner with you guys...." she answered.


	13. chp 13 (a birthday surprise)

Something changed in Spinel that day when Steven let her cry on him, she decided to be a bit more open with Steven if she ever felt bad, but it was her choice to not go into detail if she didn't feel comfortable with it. For the past couple weeks, Spinel has been nicer to Steven. Sometimes she'd give him a lollipop, sometimes she'd each lunch with him and Amethyst with Pink Pearl in tow, and just about every day Steven walked Spinel home. 

However, Pink Pearl secretly informed Steven that the next day was Spinel's birthday, but Spinel didn't want to make a big deal of it. Steven didn't exactly understand why, but he definitely ran out and bought her a present in which he hand wrapped it himself. The next school day, Steven waited eagerly in English class for Spinel to arrive, the weather matched Steven's mood, a happy sunny Friday. Spinel noticed his eagerness as she walked in, she also noticed that the pink dye in his hair was mostly gone. "What's up Steven?" Spinel asked, sitting next to him as usual. "Pink Pearl told me that today is your birthday and....well, I know you don't want to celebrate it or anything like that, but I got you a present." Steven explained, pulling out the gift from his backpack and handing it to her. 

  
Spinel seemed a bit surprised that Steven got her a gift, she gently tugged a loose strand of her dark pink hair behind her pierced ear before taking the gift. She slowly unwrapped the gift and removed the lid of the wrapped box. Inside was a black choker, with a pink heart attached to it. Spinel fought back tears when she lifted it out of the box, no one had really given her a gift this nice in forever. "It seemed like something you'd like so I bought it for you..." Steven explained. "I don't like it...." Spinel admitted, in which it earned a surprised frown from Steven, "I love it!" She finished before putting it on. 

Steven chuckled a little "I'm glad you love it, are you doing anything for your birthday?" He asked. Spinel's smile faded away a bit "yea, I'm going to a party..." She mumbled. "Do....you want me to come with?" Steven asked, a look of concern in his eyes. "No, it's not really a party Pearl or Garnet would let you go to...." Spinel explained, gripping the heart on her choker as her thumb rubbed the pink color. "Hmph..." Steven grunted softly "well if anything happens, you can text me ok? At any given point of time, just let me know if you need help alright?" He told her, which earned a chuckle from Spinel "yea, sure...."

Later that night, Steven was soundly asleep in his bed. At one in the morning, Stevens phone made a few audible dings, which woke the male up. He groaned softly before yawning heavily when he checked his phone. Steven woke up a bit more when he saw that Spinel messaged him a couple times. "Hey ass star. I need ride home before I pyke up ma liqor" was what both texts read. Steven sighed, he got up to get dressed and made his way downstairs. 

"Steven, where are you going?" Garnet asked, getting home from a very late shift. "Spinel is at a party and she needs a ride home, if I'm not home soon, it's probably because I have to take care of Spinel" Steven yawned, grabbing the keys for the car. "You're a good friend Steven, text Pearl if that happens, I know she's asleep but it'll still calm her down some in the morning" Garnet told him before heading to her room. 

Steven got into the car and began driving, one of Spinel's text told him the address at where the party was held. About a half hour later, Steven arrived at the large house where the party was held. Steven cautiously made his way up the cement path, stepping over a passed out drunk guy before arriving at the wide opened front door. It was loud, crazy, full of drunk people with some of them making out in various spots of the house. After about five minutes of looking, Steven spotted the familiar looking pink ponytails in one of the large crowds. 

As Steven made his way over, he noticed that Spinel had changed her clothing from before. She was still wearing the choker from before, but was wearing her fingerless gloves, a hoodie that went above her stomach, and baggy shorts that almost but not quite slipped off her waist. Spinel noticed Steven, her face red from being drunk as she swayed a little in place. As soon as she noticed Steven, she smiled wildly and stumbled to him "Ass star! Ya made it, I need anozer drink~" Spinel slurred while giggling, her Brooklyn accent barely audible within the loud music that played. "Spinel? You texted me saying that you needed a ride home" Steven explained, trying to make sure she didn't fall over. "Ah yea? I did didn't I? Are ya sure you're not trying to make me come home with ya?~" She asked teasingly before giving a small hiccup. 

Steven gave a small sigh and wrapped Spinel's arm on to his shoulder "c'mon, I'm taking you home...." He stated, walking her out of the party and to the car. The drive home was awkward for Steven, but fun for Spinel. Spinel continued to giggle and tried to cuddle up to him as he drove. Soon the two of them arrived at Spinel's house, in which she demanded to be carried. "The queen of kicking ass deserves to be carried" she slurred, resting her head on Stevens shoulder, which made the male blush a little. He got out of the car and helped her out of her seat, Steven then picked her up bridal style in one fell swoop. "Oooooh someone's strong~" Spinel teased, her voice deep and sultry. Steven blushed heavily from her comment, he hadn't seen this side of Spinel before. 

He carried Spinel's house, her face nuzzling into her neck. Steven yelped a little when he felt Spinel peck his neck, almost dropping her in surprise. "Be careful~" Spinel giggled, her arms wrapped around his neck. Steven soon brought Spinel to her room, it smelled lightly of smoke and had few personal belongings, but it had a bed, dresser, and a large mirror with make up stuff on top. Steven laid Spinel gently on her bed and sighed, he began to unwrap her arms from his neck before everything took an unexpected turn. Spinel was surprisingly strong, even when drunk, which surprised Steven as she grabbed his shirt collar and flung him onto the bed. Steven soon found himself laying on the bed, staring up at a very drunk Spinel straddling him and looking down at him while giggling. "Ya know something?~" Spinel asked, chuckling a little. "Wh-what?" Steven asked, squeaking his response really. She then leaned down very slowly in where her face was very very close to him. "Ya pretty cute ass star, I'm pretty flexible if ya want to find out~" Spinel giggled, her fingers becoming intertwined with Stevens fingers when she leaned down. 

Stevens mind was mush by now, he didn't know what to say for the longest time, he swore he saw little hearts in her eyes. "Sp-Spinel, I should go home...." He gulped, trying to wiggle a bit to get out of this position. Spinel's grip on his hands tightened as her smile faded quickly and were replaced with a lip quiver. She then began to cry softly"n-no.... don't leave me.... please don't leave me...." She sobbed, leaning down and burying her face in his shirt. Steven became even more shocked when he heard Spinel whimper "don't leave me like she did...."

"Like her? Who's her? Did she hurt Spinel? This questions ran through his mind. Spinel's hair tickled his nose a little "o-ok, I won't leave..." Steven promised, one he intended to keep. Spinel gave a small sniffle before looking up at the male "p-promise?..." She asked, looking hopeful. Steven nodded in response "I promise, I won't ever leave you" he told her. That made Spinel happy, she cuddled into him and passed out in her drunken state. Steven sighed, he got one of his hands loose and reached for his phone, as soon as he did this, Spinel spooned him from his side, hugging his arm tightly and her legs wrapped around waist. Steven texted Pearl about what happened and set his phone aside. He looked over at Spinel and gave a small sigh. Steven turned a little on his side and cuddled Spinel from the front before he gradually fell asleep.


	14. chp 14 (a birthday gift part 1)

"Has my bed always been so comfy?" Was the first question that Spinel thought as the sun shined through her blinds and o to her eyes. "Fuck my head....." She whimpered softly to herself. "What happened last night?..." was the next question that popped into her head, which followed with another question "how'd I get home? Did I walk?..." Spinel groaned a little as she shifted in her bed a little, it was then that she felt something wrapped around her waist. It felt comforting, and she felt safe, like nothing could hurt her for the longest time. Spinel noticed that she still had her clothes on, so whatever happened last night wasn't THAT. 

Her head hurt a bit, probably due from the alcohol from last night. Spinel turned a bit to see who was spooning her from behind, soon her face was mere centimeters away from Stevens softly snoring face. Spinel's face was flushed heavily as she realized that Steven was the one who brought her home. She internally screamed as her thought process caught up to her. Steven was literally in her bed cuddling her, the one question repeated in her head was "WHY WHY WHY WHY?!?!"

Spinel tried to wiggle out of Stevens arms, but instead he began to wake up from the movements. Steven groaned softly as he opened his eyes, only to meet Spinel's confused and flustered face, which startled him a bit in where he fell off the bed with a small shout. He fell onto his back with an audible thud, knocking the air out of his lungs. Spinel's eyes widen as she watched Steven fall off her bed, she crawled over her bed and peered down at Steven who gave a groan after he fell "Steven? Are you ok?" She asked with concern. Steven grunted as he sat up "y-yea, are you ok?" He asked gently. Spinel gulped a little "somewhat, I have a slight headache but it's not bothersome" she answered. 

Steven stood up slowly and grunted as he sat down next to Spinel. "What happened last night? Everything is a total blank...." She asked softly. Steven looked at her, somewhat surprised. She doesn't remember? He mentally asked himself, although he knows what alcohol can do to a person sometimes. "Well.... you texted me about one in the morning, calling me ass star, and asking if I could give you a ride home" Steven began to explain. "You demanded that I carry you into the house, which I complied with. Then I put you on your bed, and then you grabbed me and didn't want me to leave..." His voice trailed off in the end. Spinel groaned and blushed in embarrassment, pulling her messy ponytails to her face so she could hide a bit. Steven's chest felt heavy, but also warm when he saw her blush a bit, he also noticed that she still had eyeliner tears on her cheek. 

"Do you always....do this on your birthday?" Steven asked gently, scooting close to her a bit. Spinel let go of her hair and looked up at Steven, feeling a bit disappointed in herself. "Since I was sixteen....yea..." She admitted, feeling guilty. "How old are you now?" Steven asked gently, a bit worried for her. Spinel looked at the ground, her fists clutching the blanket underneath her "I'm eighteen now...." She answered. Steven gave a face of worry and frustration, he gave a small sigh and rested his hand on top Spinel's hand. Spinel tensed up at the gesture, looking up at the male in surprise. 

She then noticed that Stevens shirt had various black dots on it, along with a couple black streaks on Stevens face. Spinel raised her hand to her cheek and rubbed a little using her thumb, when she pulled her hand away, her thumb had a few black dried specks of her eyeliner on her thumb. Spinel became even more embarrassed, she usually didn't cry when she was drunk. "Spinel? Are you ok?" He asked gently, giving her hand a small squeeze. Spinel squeaked a bit, surprised from her hand being squeezed gently "I'll be ok, I'm just going to hang in my room like usual" she shrugged, honestly she just wished that the bed would swallow her up and hide her from this awkward embarrassment. Steven frowned and huffed in frustration "no you're not" he stated. Spinel looked up at Steven, raising her eyebrow at his bossiness. "Get up, changed and everything else like that" Steven told her, well, more like commanded. Spinel began to become agitated at his bossiness and frowned "why?" She asked, growling a little. 

Steven stood up and held his hand out for Spinel to take "I'm going to treat you to a better birthday" he stated, smiling slyly. Spinel was a bit surprised at what he said, she hesitantly took his hand and stood up. "If we're doing this, leave my room, I need to change and everything else......I do have one shirt that could fit you if you want it?" She suggested, indicating that Stevens shirt was stained. "Can I see it?" Steven asked, a bit curious at what shirt she meant. Spinel walked to her dresser and pulled a large t-shirt out, the sleeves kinda cut off, but it was black with a large star on the front. Steven's face showed that he was shocked, but a bit happy as he grabbed the shirt "where'd you get this?" He asked, holding the shirt up for him to get a better look. Spinel shrugged a bit, wondering why the hell he was happy to see an old shirt like this "at a garage sale one day, I usually use it to sleep in but I haven't used it in a while, I cut the sleeves a bit so it's fit the design better" she explained. "My dad used to have the shirts when he was younger, I'm surprised that you have one" Steven smiled happily as he began to remove his jacket. "Your....dad?" Spinel didn't even realized that Steven had a dad. "Yea, he wanted to be a rock star but....that didn't pan out so well sadly, his music is great" Steven explained as he began to remove his shirt. 

Spinel blushed madly and spun around to where her back was facing him. Sure Steven wasn't the fittest, but he was slim and definitely strong, even if it didn't seem like it. Steven then put the shirt on, which fitted him just fine "what do you think?" Steven asked, noticing Spinel had turned around earlier. Spinel turned around again and looked at him "huh....." Was her response. Steven raised an eyebrow at her answer. "Black looks good on you" she finished, nodding in approval. Steven smiled happily "good, I'll wait for you to get ready and when you're done, we'll go get breakfast" he told her, breakfast was the first step for the day. Steven grabbed his jacket and put it on before he began to leave her room. Spinel gulped a little as she watched him leave the room, she sighed a bit from feeling alone but decided that the quicker she got ready, the quicker they can do whatever it is he has planned this day.


	15. chp 15 (a birthday gift part 2)

Steven waited patiently on the couch in Spinel's living room, he checked his phone and found that Pearl surprisingly only texted him once. The text read "although I don't like how you left the house so late, I'm glad you're taking care of your friend instead of leaving her alone at some party alone. Please text me if anything bad happens". Steven smiled a bit, he always liked it when Pearl, or Garnet supported him like this. Steven texted a quick "thank you" message to Pearl before stuffing his phone back into his jackets pocket.

Steven decided to take this time to reflect on what happened last night. He had never seen Spinel act so.....flirty before, it surprised him a lot when she teased and flirted with him. Steven also wondered where "Ass Star" came from, was that her nickname for him or something? He didn't really know, and what did she mean by being "flexible?". Steven groaned, flopping over on the couch so he was lying on it. His mind turned to mush again when he remembered how Spinel took control and basically had him pinned down on the bed. Steven sat up with a sudden realization, he knew that Spinel was drunk at the time, but he actually......liked it. He stared at his hands and remembered that they were intertwined with Spinel's hand. "What's going on with me?" He mentally asked himself. "Steven? What're you doing here?" Pink Pearl asked, she was still in her flannel pajamas. Steven didn't even realize that Pink Pearl came out of her room since he was deep in thought "hey Pink Pearl, Spinel was drunk and needed a ride home. She asked for me to stay with her last night and I did" Steven explained gently. "Oh I see, that was nice of you, do you want breakfast?" Pink Pearl asked, heading to the kitchen. "No no, I'm taking her out for the day" Steven stated. Pink Pearl adjusted the eye patch that rested on her eye "well ok, you both enjoy your day ok?" She told him before pouring herself some cereal. 

A few minutes had passed and Spinel finally came out of her room. Her makeup and hair fixed, she was wearing a type of tank top in where it didn't cover her stomach and had a pink skull on it, baggy shorts that also barely fit her waist but still matched her punk/goth style, and her black fingerless gloves. Steven smiled a bit when he saw Spinel, he stood up and walked to her "you ready?" He asked. Spinel nodded in response, in which Steven took her hand and lead her to his car. 

Soon the both of them were on the road "first, breakfast at the Big Donut~" Steven smiled brightly. "I didn't know you liked donuts" Spinel replied, it was then that she realized that she didn't know much about the male that scared her with new feelings. "Yea, I've visited the Big Donut since I was twelve" Steven explained as he pulled into the parking lot of the Big Donut. Steven parked the door and got out of car, Spinel following him into the building. "Ah Young Universe, wanting a couple donuts?" The man behind the counter asked. "Hi Dewey, yes I'd like a couple donuts please" Steven smiled in a friendly way before looking at Spinel "what do you want?" Steven asked. Spinel pondered her choice for a bit "a chocolate donut with blue sprinkles?" She asked Steven. "Ok, one chocolate donut with blue sprinkles and one strawberry donut with purple sprinkles" Steven ordered, in which Bill Dewey got the donuts out for them. "Wanna sit outside?" Steven asked Spinel, while paying for their donuts. "Sure" Spinel answered, she grabbed the donuts and walked outside with Steven, in where they sat across from each other at one of the outside tables. 

Steven took his donut from the take out bag and began to bite into it. Spinel soon did the same thing "mmmm, this is good~" she smiled a little. Steven nodded in agreement, not talking with his mouth full since that's how he was raised. "Hey Steven, can I ask you something?" She asked, halfway through her donut. Steven swallowed his bite "sure go ahead" he urged her to ask whatever was on her mind. "Did I do.... anything weird last night?" She asked, barely having any memory from last night after drinking heavily. "Well....when I carried you into your house, you uh...." Steven stopped himself as he began to blush madly, which earned a curious eyebrow raise from Spinel "you kissed my neck..." His words trailed off into a soft whisper. Spinel's face drained of color, except for a very deep and heavy blush spreading across her face. She hid her face in her hands, propping her elbows on the table "fuck...." she groaned in embarrassment "I'm so sorry...." Steven gulped a bit, scratching his cheek a bit "it's ok, you were drunk from last night so it's ok. It just caught me off guard as well since I've never been kissed like that before, or at all really." he chuckled awkwardly. Spinel looked up at him a bit "he's never been kissed before?" She thought to herself as she quickly ate the rest of her donut. Steven also finished his donut and tossed away the trash "c'mon, we got more to do~" Steven smiled, helping Spinel up and walking with her back to the car.

Spinel didn't know exactly where they were going next, but she did enjoy having breakfast with him despite the awkwardness when she asked him a question. "Why do I get the feeling he's hiding something from me?" She asked herself, her anxiety starting to kick in a little. Soon Spinel saw the large sign that said "Funland" as Steven pulled into the parking lot "here we are~" he announced. Spinel wasn't expecting to be taken to an amusement park, let alone that fact that she didn't know Steven liked Funland. She got out of the car when Steven parked the car and exited the vehicle, kinda excited to have fun with him for the day. "What do you want to do first?" Steven asked. Spinel thought for a minute "I wanna play a game~" she smirked at the male. Steven blushed a little at her response and lead her to one of the games, which was a balloon dart game. Mr. Smiley saw Steven approaching with Spinel and greeted them both "hey guys, Steven I hope Amethyst isn't around" he chuckled, despite his everlasting smile, he was slowly dying mentally in the inside. "No, not that I'm aware of, a few darts please?" Steven asked kindly, placing a couple dollars down on the booths counter. Mr. Smiley placed the darts on the counter in front of Steven and moved out of the way, in where Steven handed Spinel the darts. Spinel grabbed each individual darts from Steven and aimed at the balloons, and despite her best efforts, she was able to pop a couple of balloons. "Here's your prize" Mr. Smiley stated, handing Spinel a small stuffed black rabbit. Spinel smiled softly as she held the toy, feeling a little proud of herself. Steven waved goodbye to Mr. Smiley as he and Spinel walked around for a few hours, they rode the rollercoaster a couple times and the spinning tea cups, even though it left Steven a little bit nauseous. 

Soon the both of them arrived at the arcade, he turned to her and asked "wanna go in?". Spinel nodded and followed him inside the arcade, many games lit up the opened building. Spinel's eyes sparkled at the various games, and rushed a bit to Meat Beat Mania, "I'm gonna kick your ass in this game~" she smirked, challenging Steven at the game. Steven smirked and chuckled a little "I'd like to see you try~" he replied, accepting her challenge and joining her on the platform. Well Spinel kept true to her word, she beat Steven in Meat Beat Mania a few times before he accepted defeat. "Wow, you're really good~" Steven smiled, sweating a little from the constant moving. Spinel snickered a little as she put the meat designed controllers down "I've got a thing for games~" she teased. "Y-you want to get some cotton candy?" Steven asked, stuttering a little when he saw her smirk. "Yea, I'd like something sweet~" she smiled. Steven smiled as well, grabbing her hand and leading her to a cotton candy vendor. Spinel didn't want to admit it, but she accepted the fact that she's grown close to Steven, and even more comfortable being around him. Steven ordered one large pink cotton candy for the two of them to share. "A sweet treat for a sweetheart~" he teased the pink haired female, which made her blush a little. Steven tore a piece off of the cotton candy and popped it into his mouth. He enjoyed the melting sweet taste and grabbed another piece "go ahead and have a piece" he told her. Spinel smirked and decided to tease him a bit more by grabbing his hand, and biting the smaller piece closely out of his fingers, smirking while doing so. "That tastes yummy~" she chuckled, still smirking. Steven felt his knees turn to jelly as his face became a whole new shade of pink. He mentally screamed a bit as he continued to hold onto his balance. Spinel noticed this and started laughing "you should see your face~" she laughed a bit, which brought Steven back to reality. "Darn her teasing...." He mentally told himself, like she'd be the end of him. 

Soon the sun was starting to set, in which Steven noticed. They had a lot of fun at Funland, they ate some corn dogs, played more games and rode every ride they could. "C'mon, we got more to do~" Steven told her, grabbing her hand and rushing her to the car. "Like what?" She asked, wondering what else he had planned. "Sadie Killer and the Suspects are playing tonight at the warehouse, and were going to go watch them perform~" he explained. Steven managed to surprise Spinel again, not knowing that he liked the music. "Damn, I really don't know much about this dude....." She kicked herself mentally, wishing that she had known about this sooner.


	16. chp 16 (a birthday gift part 3)

Soon the pair arrived at the abandoned warehouse, it was a bit early so there were barely anyone there. Steven got out of the car with Spinel right behind him. "Don't we need tickets?" Spinel asked, noticing that there was a bouncer at the entrance. Sure Spinel knew how to sneak in at times, but this time she was with Steven. "Don't worry about it" Steven smiled softly as they approached the entrance. Spinel raised an eyebrow, wondering what he was planning. "Hey Bismuth" Steven waved at the rainbow colored hair female. "Hey Steven, going in?" She asked, knowing that he was alright to be let in. "Yea I am, this is Spinel" he indicated to the female next to him. "Ah you're Spinel? Pearl told.me about you, alright the both of you go on in, Sadie might need a little help" she chuckled, jerking her thumb in the direction of the entrance. Spinel's eyes were wide, surprised that Steven was able to get in easily, let alone with her. "What just happened?..." Spinel accidentally asked out loud, she then mentally kicked herself since that was supposed to be asked in her brain. "Oh Bismuth? She knew mom way back when, and has been one of the coolest people in my life" Steven smiled as he replied. "Oh, where is your mom?" Spinel asked gently. Steven shrugged and sighed lightly "shes gone...." He answered nonchalantly. "What does he mean "she's gone"?" Spinel asked herself.

As soon as the two were in the warehouse, Steven was tackled into a hug, picked up and twirled around a couple times by a very short, green haired girl. "Steven! I'm so glad you're here!" The girl exclaimed as she twirled Steven, then setting him down. "I'm glad to see you two Sadie, I'm surprised you can still pick me up" Steven joked. "No no, I mean we need your help" Sadie explained "Buck is stuck in traffic and is going to miss the first song, we need you to play in his place till he gets here" she finished. "Well yea sure!" Steven agreed to help "Spinel, will you be ok?" He asked. "Uh yeah" Spinel nodded, surprised again that Steven is friends with the whole band, which probably explained a lot. Steven then went off to help the band set up quickly before everyone arrived.

About half an hour passed before the warehouse began to fill up, Spinel felt slightly out of place, that was until the music started. She stared at Steven, who looked a bit badass with an electric guitar, soon Sadie began to sing "The Working Dead".

"Tired from work  
Hate my job  
I really oughta be in mourning  
But I've got another shift this morning  
Everyday feels like it's never-ending  
What's the point of all this time I'm spending  
Here  
At this  
Dead-end job  
Oh  
We are the working dead  
And we lurch for minimum wage  
But I'd really rather be  
Eating your brain  
Look at you -- you seem so bright and healthy  
And your minds are full of joy and wonder  
Stay a thousand miles from the condition  
That I've got from all the stress I'm under  
Don't come near me or you might encourage  
All these terrifying sudden urges  
Seeing you makes skipping work so tempting  
Don't you know that in the night, I'm temping  
Here  
At this  
Dead-end job  
Oh  
We are the working dead  
And we lurch for minimum wage  
But I'd really rather be  
Eating your brain"

As soon as as Sadie was done singing, the whole crowd cheered. "Give it up for Steven Universe and his amazing guitar playing!" Sadie complimented, in which the crowd cheered even louder. Spinel never realized how popular Steven was when he wasn't at school. Steven soon got off the stage when Buck arrived to take back his place. Steven smiled as he stood next to Spinel once again "whatcha think?" He asked, smiling at her. Spinel gulped softly, not really knowing what to say "that was extremely cool~" Spinel complimented, in which Steven blushed a bit "thanks~" he replied. Soon the tall, white haired male named Sourcream started tossing out free glow sticks. Steven and Spinel caught a couple and put them on, soon they began to dance with each other. Steven at some point, took his phone out, and took a selfie with him and Spinel rocking out. After a few more songs, they decided to rest up against one of the walls, that was until Spinel told Steven that she had to use the bathroom and went to find the bathroom. She came back after a couple minutes, only to find Steven talking with another girl. Spinel's heart sunk a little, anger set in slowly as she walked quickly and stopped behind Steven, unbeknownst to the strange female or Steven. The girl then asked if Steven was single. "Ah well I-" Steven was cut off when Spinel snaked her arms under Stevens arms, and wrapped around his chest, hugging him tightly from behind. She rested her chin on Stevens shoulder and sneered at the girl angrily "no, I'm his girlfriend so fuck off!" She answered the stranger with an audible and intimidating growl. Steven's whole body heated up as a heavy blush set in on his face, GIRLFRIEND?!?! was the last thing that came to his mind before his thought process completely shut down when shock set in. The strange girl got the message and wandered off, however Spinel continued to hug Steven from behind. "Sp-Spinel?" Steven was about to ask her something but Spinel hushed him. "Shut up and just let me hold you, it feels.....nice...." She told him before nuzzling his shoulder. Steven shut his mouth and remained silent, that was until the last song ended, "Spinel? The concert is over..." He gulped. Soon Spinel slowly let go of Steven, which made Steven turn around to face her. "Spinel? Are you ok? What was that?" He asked, indicating to her seemingly jealous attitude to the other girl. "I know that girl, she would've played with your heart and tossed you aside...." Spinel mumbled her explanation, crossing her arms over her chest. "Ok?..." Steven cocked his head, not completely understanding why Spinel did what she did. 

"It's getting late, I should take you home" Steven told her, in which Spinel grabbed his hand and squeezed it a little in response. Steven then lead Spinel back to the car and started to drive her home. Spinel then turned on the radio, in which a song began to play from a CD, which made Steven smile a bit.

"What can I do for you?

What can I do that no one else can do?  
What can I do for you?  
What can I do for you?  
Human man

You are so much fun  
I hadn't planned  
On finding you quite this entertaining  
I like your band  
And I like your song  
I like the way  
Human beings play  
I like playin' along  
Oh-oh-oh-oh whoa-oh  
What can I do for you?

What can I do that no one else can do?  
What can I do for you?  
What can I do for you?"

Spinel didn't recognize the two singers from the song "who was that?" She asked Steven. Steven gave a small chuckle "mom and dad sang a song together, that was the two of them singing" Steven explained as he continued to drive. "Huh, they both sound great together" Spinel stated, liking the song a lot "hey, where is your dad?" She asked. "He lives in his van, but stays with us during the winter. He's a really great dad" Steven smiled "maybe you'll meet him soon" he chuckled as he pulled up in front of Spinel's house. Spinel got out of the car and approached Stevens car door, which made the male roll down the window. "Hey, thanks....for the best birthday ever...." She blushed a bit, leaning on the door. Steven smiled a little, happy to make her happy "you're welcome~". Spinel met Stevens brown eyes for a few seconds before leaning in and pecking his cheek. "Ok bye!" She waved goodbye before rushing into her house quickly. Steven was in a complete of shock, watching her rush off into the house. He then began to smile widely and happily, holding his hand to the cheek that Spinel pecked before driving back home. Of course, Pearl asked Steven a million questions on how today went as soon as he entered his house.


	17. chp 17 (jealous much?)

Spinel, after a while, started to hang out more with Steven after school. She also found herself get jealous around single females who talk to Steven for so long, she couldn't figure out why that was the case. A few weeks later, Steven was showing Spinel "Crying Breakfast Friends". She couldn't figure out why the hell the food were so damn emotional, but she enjoyed spending time with Steven since it made him happy, which made her happy. Suddenly the doorbell rang, "I got it!" Steven announced, getting up from his seat to answer the door. Spinel heard Steven open the door, followed by a gasp and squealing mixed with giggling. The fuck? ran through her mind as she got up from the couch, peering around the corner to see Steven having picked up a girl, and spinning her around in joy. Spinel felt the same familiar feeling tug at her heart, she mumbled some obscenities to herself. "Connie I'm so glad to see you! What are you doing here?" He asked as he sat the girl down. Connie giggled a little "I'm on break and decided to come visit~" she smiled, still wearing her school's uniform from earlier that day, which consists of a skirt, a button up shirt and a blazer with the schools emblem on the left of the chest. Spinel approached Steven from behind and snaked her arms around Stevens right arm, catching the male off guard. "O-Oh! Connie, this is Spinel" he introduced the two of them. "You're Spinel? It's nice to meet you~" Connie smiled, holding her hand out for Spinel to shake. "Likewise" Spinel replied, shaking her hand slowly before returning to wrap her arms around Steven. "Uh so we're watching Crying Breakfast Friends, care to join?" Steven asked, using his other hand to rub the back of his neck."sure!" Connie stated excitedly before removing her shoes, and walking to the couch to plop down on the side. Steven sat back down in the middle of the couch, which made Spinel sat down on the other side of the couch. Spinel glanced every now and then at Connie, she tightened her grip on Steven's hand when Connie let her hand fall on Stevens hand. "U-uh Spinel? Can you ease up a bit on your grip?" Steven asked, facing the punk styled goth. "Sorry...." Spinel mumbled an apology, letting her grip slacken a bit.

Soon Stevens phone rang, "excuse me" Steven smiled gently as he got.up and walked away to answer it. Soon it was just Spinel and Connie on the couch, Spinel resumed her calm and isolating mood. "So....Steven talks about you sometimes" Connie stated, trying to start a conversation to fill the awkward air. "Does he? Like what?" Spinel asked, not looking at Connie as her chin rested on her hand. "Yea, he says how much fun you guys have, he even mentioned when he first met you" Connie explained. Spinel slowly glanced at Connie as she continued to speak. "Yea, honestly I'm a little jealous" Connie chuckled. That perked Spinel's interest, "she's jealous? Of me?" Spinel mentally asked herself. "Yea, ever since I went to this private school in Empire City last year, i barely have any time to spend with him..." Connie finished "I'm glad he's found a friend like you" she smiled gently at the pink haired girl. Spinel gave a friendly "humph" before smirking at Connie "ya ain't so bad Connie, I think we can be good friends". Connie smiled and nodded in agreement, just in time Steven came and sat back down next to them. "You guys seem chatty, whatcha been talking about?" Steven asked, happy that his two friends were getting along. "Ohhhh nothing much really, we're just getting to know each other~" Spinel answered Steven, resting her head on Stevens shoulder. Connie gave a small chuckle at Spinel being adorable with Steven, despite her appearance. 

As soon as a couple episodes have ended, Steven suggested that they play Video Games in his room, in where both females agreed. The three of them headed up to Stevens room in where he set up his game console with three controllers. Soon they were playing a player versus player fighting game. Steven and Connie laying on their stomachs on Stevens bed while Spinel sat on the floor, leaning back onto the edge of the bed. Steven had rested his chin on top of Spinel's head and had his arms draped over her shoulder, furiously mashing at the buttons on his controller. Connie got up to use the bathroom after they finished a round. Spinel watched her walk off and looked up at Steven "can we talk?" She asked gently. Steven nodded in agreement "sure, something on your mind?" Steven asked, patting the spot next to him. Spinel crawled onto the bed and laid on her back next to him. "Well.....I just remembered something back when you took me out for the day and....when I told that girl to fuck off cause I was your girlfriend, why didn't you object?" She asked. Steven propped his head up using his hand to look at Spinel better. "Hmm....well I think it's because you caught me off guard and told.me to shut up since you like hugging me~" he teased, earning a blush from Spinel. "Y-yea but, another question I have is why do you like me as a friend? I basically almost made you shit yourself a couple times the first time we met" Spinel stated, turning her head to look at Steven. "Well, you're really fun to hang around, sure you can be scary, but we have a lot in common, and it feels nice to hang out with someone you care about" he answered, smiling sweetly. That gooey, warm fuzzy feeling hit her hard this time, but she elected to look away. "Honestly I'm surprised you don't hate me..." She mumbled. "Huh? What do you mean?" Steven asked, confusion in his voice. "Well I almost beat you up several times in the span of a couple days, and lately I've been so clingy and jealous and-" Spinel bit her lip to cut herself off, screaming mentally. "Spinel? Is that why you've been acting odd lately?" Steven asked gently, resting his hand on Spinel's hand. Spinel blushed a bit at his actions, she returned to look at him "maybe...." She admitted. 

Steven gave a small sigh as he gave Spinel's hand a small squeeze. Connie soon entered the bedroom and smirked at the both of them "stop flirting you two, I'm still here~"she teases the pair, which makes Steven and Spinel blush. A couple hours had passed and Connie had to get going, she gave Spinel a hug before giving Steven a hug, followed by giving him a peck on the cheek before saying goodbye. Spinel knew that Connie was just being friendly, but couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy when that happened. Steven blushed a bit from the gesture and chuckled a little. 

Spinel soon got a text from Pink Pearl, she checked her phone to see what the message was. "Hey Spinel, the water heater exploded at the house and won't be fixed for a couple days. I'm rooming with the other Pearls for the time being so you'll have to ask Steven or someone if you can stay at their house." Spinel sighed in frustration, she showed Steven the text which made the male pout a bit. "I'm sure it's fine with Garnet, Pearl is on a business trip so we should be good" he told her "I'll go set up the couch ok?". Spinel nodded, watching Steven make his way to the closet and grabbing a couple blankets and pillows and set them up in the couch. "I have spare pajamas if you want to borrow some?" Steven suggested, in which Spinel nodded her head. Steven then went up to his room, running up the stairs eagerly. Spinel followed after him slowly, she entered Stevens room to find him gathering pajamas for her to look at. Spinel chose a pair of shorts and a large shirt that looked more like a night gown. Steven texted Garnet about what's going on as he made his way back down the stairs with Spinel walking next to him. "You'll be ok on your own?" Steven asked gently. "Y-yea I think so...." Spinel answered, taking the pajamas with her into the bathroom, then coming back out changed in those pajamas. Steven blushed a bit, seeing her hair down again as she wore his clothes. 

Spinel snuggled into the blankets and rested her head on the pillows, "just let me know if you need anything ok?" Steven told her, tucking her in a little like the sweetheart he is. Spinel watched him walk off before turning out the light in the living room. Steven then retreated into his room and was soon changed and asleep, however Spinel was still awake. A couple hours passed and Spinel cuddled one of the pillows in an attempt to fall asleep to no avail. She sat up and sighed, thinking that what she was going to do was a bad idea, but decided to do it anyways. Spinel silently made her way up the stairs and silently opened Stevens bedroom door. The brown curly haired boy was snoring softly, content in his sleeping state. Spinel lifted the covers on his bed and crawled into them, snuggling closer to Steven from the front, she then wrapped her arms around the sleeping male. "Huh?...." Steven groaned softly, feeling someone in the bed with him. "I couldn't sleep, please let me stay?..." She asked softly. "Yea sure...." He yawned as he snuggled Spinel back, kinda giving her a kiss on the forehead in the process. Spinel gulped and blushed heavily from what just happened. "Did he do that on purpose? Or was that just him being nice, even when sleeping?" She repeatedly asked herself before falling asleep.


	18. Chp 18 (the talk)

Steven at the moment was cuddling Spinel as they watched a cheesy horror movie. Spinel was basically sitting on Stevens lap, with Stevens arms wrapped around her waist as it was just the two of them in the house. "God this movie is so bad that it's funny~" Steven smiled a little followed by a chuckle. "That's true, to bad there's nothing else on~" Spinel replied, glancing at Steven with a small smirk. "True, honestly we could watch something else of you want?" Steven suggested, reaching for the remote. Spinel gave a mischievous grin, followed by a chuckle "I know of something we can do~" she stated, swinging herself around so she was straddling his lap. Stevens arms were still around her waist as Spinel rested her arms on his shoulders. "You wanna tell me the idea?~" Steven smirked, blushing a lot at the moment. Spinel cheeks were dusted a bit, still smirking as she leaned in a bit to where their noses were barely touching. "why don't I just show you?~" Spinel told him, then both of them leaned in a little more and.....

DING-DONG

The sound of a doorbell ringing made Steven open his eyes. He blinked a couple times before his thought process caught up with his sleepy brain, just a dream..... He sighed softly. Steven heard Garnet opening the door and letting someone in, he also realized that he was cuddling Spinel from the front. He took this quick minute to get a good look at her, she seemed so peaceful while sleeping, and so adorable as well. Steven began to unwrap his arms from Spinel's sleeping body, even though he didn't want to. Soon Garnet walked into Stevens room and chuckled at the cuteness between the two, "Steven, Greg is here" she told him, in which triggered Spinel to start waking up. "Dad?!" Steven exclaimed excitedly, jumping out of the bed and rushing down the stairs, where he jumped into the arms of his dad. Spinel was always surprised at how fast Steven can move when he's really motivated, she slowly got out of bed with the blanket wrapped around her. 

"Hey Stu-Ball! Garnet asked me if I could drive you to go pick up some groceries" Greg smiled, the back of his head still had the long hair. Spinel stood at the top of the stairs, honestly she imagined Stevens dad to be a bit different, like she didn't think that Greg would have an odd farmers tan. "Ok sure, let me get dressed ok?" Steven replied before rushing back upstairs, passing Spinel. Spinel decided to go down the stairs to meet Mr. Universe "hello" she greeted Greg. Greg seemed a bit confused, raising an eyebrow a bit as to why she was wearing some of Stevens clothes, "you must be Spinel" he held his hand out for her to shake. Spinel let go of the blanket a bit and shook his hand, "I'm guessing Steven told you about me?" She asked gently. "Yea he did, it's good to meet you" Greg smiled a little "he told me that you found one of my shirts at a garage sale? I'm a bit surprised honestly" he chuckled. "Yea, I didn't know that it used to belong to you" she explained just before Steven rushed down the stairs. "Spinel do you want to come?" He asked. Spinel shook her head as to answer no, "I don't really have spare clothes at the moment, I can wait until you get back." She explained, taking the blanket with her to the couch. After another moment, Steven left with Greg. 

Garnet placed her hand on Spinel shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "meet me on the back porch, I'd like to speak to you" she told her before heading to the backyard. Spinel raised an eyebrow, curious on what Garnet wanted to talk to her about, she got up and left the blanket on the couch before heading to the back porch. Spinel soon saw Garnet smoking a cigarette at the table that was on the back porch. Garnet indicated for Spinel to sit next to her, in which the girl complied with. Garnet then handed her a cigarette and lent her the lighter, Spinel realized that she hadn't smoked a cigarette for a couple days, but she lit it, took a drag and puffed out a small cloud of smoke. "You've been hanging around Steven for a long time yea?" Garnet asked "from what he told me on the first day, you grabbed his collar a couple times and threatened him" she teased. Spinel blushed a bit in embarrassment "y-yea, I already feel bad about it...." She grumbled before taking another drag of her cigarette. "It's alright, he's very fond of you" Garnet chuckled a bit "honestly I'm glad your his friend" she smirked. Spinel couldn't read Garnet's eyes since she was wearing sunglasses ""really? Sometimes I think he's just pitying me...." She admitted. "Why is that?" Garnet asked, her voice calm as usual as she puffed out a small puff of smoke. Spinel sighed, a bit before taking a deep drag before huffing out the smoke. "Well....I just had very bad experiences, one in particular made me who I am today...." Spinel sighed. "Did you tell Steven?" Garnet asked gently, her eyes studying Stevens friend. "N-no.....I don't think I'm ready for that yet...." Spinel admitted, resting her head on her hand, "I probably never will be...." She sighed. "Hm.... Let me tell you something I told Greg when he felt a bit discouraged at a point with Rose in their relationship" Garnet leaned forward, which caught Spinel's attention. "Get open, get honest, if something is bothering you, talk to someone about it...that's the only way to improve a relationship" Garnet stated, putting out her cigarette butt. Spinel looked at the table before looking away "I will, just not yet..." 

Garnet gave a small chuckle, "so, Steven is on the decorations committee for the fall dance, and he's going to be there" she explained. "So?..." Spinel asked gently, glancing at the tall afro woman. "Well, are you going to go?" Garnet asked. "Well....dances aren't my thing" Spinel explained. "But you could dance with Steven" Garnet smirked, which made Spinel blush. Spinel extinguished her butt of the cigarette before sighing, honestly that thought of slow dancing with Steven made her heart flutter a bit. "We're back!" Steven announced from inside the house, with both him and Greg carrying grocery bags. "Let's go help them" Garnet told Spinel before getting up and going back inside. Spinel pondered for a minute, before going back inside to help put the groceries away. Steven was happily putting away the groceries, with help from Greg and Garnet, humming a bit. Spinel watched from the entrance of the kitchen, hesitating to talk to Steven. "H-Hey Steven?" Spinel spoke softly, which caught the attention of Steven as she walked up beside him to help with the groceries. "Yea Spinel?" Steven asked, looking at Spinel. "If I go to the dance, would....would you dance with me?" She asked, very nervous while blushing. Steven smiled a bit "well yea!" He answered excitedly. Spinel smiled sweetly and softly, which made Stevens chest warm and fuzzy "then I'll be there..." She answered softly


	19. chp 19 (dance with me?)

Steven was helping put up decorations in the gym, which would be occupying the students for the fall dance. Jasper wasn't part of the committee, but she had Steven on her shoulders so he could put up a banner. "I appreciate this Jasper" Steven smiled as he finished. "It's no big deal small fry, you needed help and I helped" Jasper simply stated as she put Steven back onto the ground. "Are you going to be at the dance?" Steven asked, Jasper gave a frown after sighing "not if Lapis is going to be there...." She answered, crossing her arms. "Why? What happened between the two of you?" Steven asked, his curiosity peaked. "We just.... didn't have the best relationship...." Jasper simply stated "we're still not good with each other, we used to date but that was a mistake." Steven hummed a little "well ok...." He replied. Steven understood the concept of toxic relationships, and understood that maybe what happened between Lapis and Jasper. "Hey Jasper, can I ask you for advice?" Steven asked, a little nervous. "Sure small fry, what's up?" Jasper asked, putting her backpack back on. "Well.....how do I put this....what happens when you start having dreams about someone?" Steven asked, shuffling his feet a little. "Ah this type of advice, well when you get to a certain age, dreams like this occur with a lot of people. Now this is called wet-" Jasper was soon interrupted by a wide eyes Steven "N-NO! NOT THAT KINDA DREAMS" Steven shouted in a bit of a panic. "Oh sorry, wanna explain the type.of dreams you mean?" Jasper chuckled, running her fingers through the mane that is her hair. "Like, hugging and flirting a bit and just spending time together....I've been having these types of dreams just about every night" Steven explained. "Ah I see, well that means it's what you want to do with that person. I won't ask since I've got an idea on who~" Jasper teased with a wink "run home dude, you gotta get ready" she told Steven, jerking her thumb to the clock. Steven went wide eyed, "thanks Jasper I'll see ya later!" Steven quickly thanked Jasper before grabbing his backpack and rushing home.

Steven was now socializing with the other students at the dance. So far, most of the school showed up. Amethyst and Jasper we're snacking away at the food bar, Lapis Lazuli and Peridot were off in the corner flirting, and the other students were either dancing or talking. Steven felt a little bit disappointed at not seeing Spinel right away, he tugged awkwardly at the knot of his tie a little. Steven was wearing his pink button up collared shirt with a black tie, black dress pants and his pink tennis shoes. Soon he saw two familiar pink haired ponytails against the wall, though the crowd blocked any facial recognition, so Steven had to squeeze his way past people. Oh fuck, I don't dress up like this all that often. Do I look good? Spinel's anxiety kicking in again, worried about what Steven would think about attire. She made sure the clip-on tie she was wearing hadn't moved to where it looked weird. "Spinel! I'm glad yo-" Steven cut his sentence short as his eyes fell on Spinel. Spinel had her usual makeup and piercings on, only this time she was wearing a black button up collared shirt, a dark pink clip-on tie, black pants with black and striped suspenders, and black boots. "S-Steven?" Spinel stuttered, seeing that the male had froze. She snapped her fingers in front of him a couple times, before poking his belly, which snapped him out of it. "You look...." Steven slowly spoke, which made Spinel think she didn't look good, ".... beautiful" the male finally finished. Spinel's heart flutter heavily when she heard his compliment, which also made the female face turn into a new shade of pink "th-thanks, so do you~" she smiled. Steven held his hand out to Spinel "come dance with me?" He asked. Spinel grabbed his hand in response to his question, and soon the two could be seen dancing to the fast paced music. 

Soon a slow along came in, in which a few students paired up while the single dancers went off to the side. "We should-oh!" Spinel yelped a little as Steven grabbed her wrists and draped them on his shoulders before gently placing his hands on her hips. Spinel felt like she could die from the way Steven held her, soon they began to slow dance together. "I'm glad you came~" Steven smiled happily, which earned a giggle from the female he was dancing with. "You know, dances aren't really my thing, I always skipped them" Spinel explained, looking into Stevens brown eyes. "Why'd you decide to go now?" Steven asked, looking into Spinel's eyes that always had those pink contacts. "It seemed that I'd have more fun with you~" she smirked, causing Steven to blush a bit. The two of them seemed to hold eye contact for a bit, they both blushed at the same time and continued to slowly dance with each other in silence. "WOOHOO STEVEN YA DAWG, GET SOME!" Amethyst shouted, both trying to encourage and embarrass Steven. It worked as Steven looked away, closing his eyes, and blushing out of embarrassment while Spinel stared daggers while sneering at the laughing Amethyst. Soon Amethyst was picked up and tossed over Jasper's shoulder "leave him alone, don't mess with his funky flow" she huffed. "Nooooooo~" Amethyst replied, faking a tantrum as Jasper carried her off. Steven looked back at Spinel, giving an awkward chuckle. "Your friend is an ass sometimes" Spinel huffed. "Well.....yea...." Steven admitted, sometimes Amethyst can be a bit mean while goofing around. Spinel then let her arms fall off of Stevens shoulder as a fast song came on "I'm a bit tired from dancing, I know where we can go rest~" spinel smirked, grabbing the knot of Stevens tie. "Eh?!?!" Steven replied, not knowing what's gonna happen. "Cmon~" the female told him, using the tie to lead him somewhere a bit secluded.


	20. Chp 20 (the reveal)

Steven continued to be lead by Spinel that still had a hold on his tie, and honestly that male was both scared and nervous for what Spinel had planned. Soon Spinel had Steven in a small, alcove like spot in the school, where there was enough room for Steven and Spinel to sit if needed. "Sorry about that, I figured it'd be easy to get you away like that from everyone else" Spinel smirked, letting go of his tie before sitting down. Steven gave a small sigh of relief as he sat down "I wasn't prepared for that" he chuckled. "Again sorry, but I think we both needed a break from the crowd" she shrugged, looking at her hand. "Is that the only reason?" Steven asked, leaning in a little. Spinel blushed softly, glancing away a bit "well.....I need to tell you something, and I swear if you tell anyone else I'll cut something off that's important" she hissed softly before sighing softly "I think I'm ready to tell you what's been wrong with me for so long...." Steven gulped a little and turned to face her "it's ok, I won't tell anyone" he spoke softly.

Flashback......

Spinel was very different when she was younger, skipping down the hallways of her middle school. Her hair up in two buns that almost looked like hearts, and her brown eyes full of happiness and joy. It was the last day of middle school, after the summer ends, she'll be a freshman in highschool. Despite her age, she honestly looked like a young child, and she acted like it as well. Spinel was soon tripped by a group of preppy girls that acted like they were better than anyone. She fell with a this, and winced from the pain "ow....." She whimpered. "The baby gonna cry?~" on of them teased. Spinel whimpered a little "just leave me alone...." The girls laughed a little before one of them dumped milk on her head "your mommy ain't here to save ya, actually wait, neither is your daddy~" the group chuckled. Spinel was on the verge of tears, sadly this was a daily occurrence for her being humiliated in any way. She looked to her left and saw her best friend walking to the front door. Their eyes met for a couple seconds before her best friend bit her lip and looked away as she walked out of the building. It was then that timed seemed to slow down for Spinel, slowly accepting the fact that her best friend had been drifting away for so long, and was now finally gone. Her mind was pulled back to reality as one of the preppy girls grabbed Spinel's hair, pulling her up into a standing position. "Answer when we talk to you!" One of the girls stated, Spinel's buns were now just messy ponytails at this point. Spinel started to feel something that she rarely felt, anger started to course through her body as she remembered everyone who left her. "Hey! Answer me!" The lead girl stated, grabbing Spinel's shirt collar. That was the last straw, as she remembered that the next thing she did was punching the girl who grabbed her with all the strength she had. The bully fell backwards onto the floor, her posse very surprised from the girls action. The bully's nose started bleeding since it was broken. Spinel soon calmed down enough to start running out of the building, she soon found herself in an alleyway panting. She used her hand to lean against the brick wall, recapping what happened moments before. Spinel looked at her hand, she had never punched anyone before....and for some reason it didn't surprise her. She soon began giggling to herself, as if she lost her mind. "Heh heh heh heh...." She giggled to herself "I need to fucking grow up...."

End of flashback.....

Spinel was still looking away from Steven as she finished telling him what happened. "I figured out that if I didn't grow up that day, I would continue to get pushed around. I also learned that everyone eventually gets tired of me and throws me away like I'm nothing.....so I started dressing like this, threatening anyone who tried talking to me, and became who I am today......" Spinel soon felt tears streak down her face "I know that someone had lost more than me, but that day changed me for the worst..... I had to move because the orphanage was facing a lawsuit from the girl and her parents, so here I am now. A broken, emotional, anger prone girl that no one loved in the first place...." She finished with a whisper. It was silent for a minute before she felt someone hug her from the side, a couple tears falling on her hand. "Is it my tears? No wait....is Steven crying? What for?...." Spinel asked herself as Steven tightened his hug on her. "I can't believe that happened to you...." Steven sobbed a little, which caught Spinel off guard, she never heard Steven cry before. "What're you crying for?..." Spinel asked softly. "Because you went through something horrible when you shouldn't have, and I wish it didn't happen because it hurts to think about you in pain like that...." Steven whimpered. Spinel's tears increased more at his words "S-Steven don't cry for me...." She stated. "Too late...." He admitted. Spinel chuckled sadly, "hey, at least you have a dad that loves you, I never met my parents....". Steven thought for a minute before he spoke up, "hey, I never met my mom either, she died after giving birth to me...." He told her, opening up a bit about himself. "But at least you have someone who loves you...." Spinel stated, still crying a bit. 

Someday, somehow, somewhere   
you'll love again.  
You just need to find someone....

Steven softly sang to Spinel, trying to get his point through to her. Then as if a lightbulb went off in Spinel's head, the way she's been feeling, the way she's been acting towards Steven and others. Spinel realized that Steven knocked down the last of her walls, and was able to sit beside her and give her a hug. That warm fuzzy feeling in her chest was suffocating her in a good way, in a way that terrified her. Spinel gave a small gulp as she came to a conclusion, one that she's been running from for the past couple of months. This broken, emotional mess of a girl, has fallen in love with someone that makes her feel wanted, happy, and safe. She has fallen in love with Steven Universe, and to be honest, this thought made her both happy, but more scared than anything.


	21. chp 21 (the accident)

Soon it was December, about three weeks after the dance, and three weeks after Spinel found herself in love with Steven. Spinel was awake early in the morning, however she didn't get up from her bed, instead she opted to stare up at the ceiling. Soon she grabbed a pillow, placed it onto her face and screamed hard into it in frustration. I can't tell him, he doesn't feel the same way. He's only my friend, I don't know what to do..... These through ran through Spinel's head over and over again. Soon her phone made a "ding" sound when she received a text message. Spinel checked her phone and her heart thumped in her chest when she saw that it was from Steven. "Hey Spinel, do you want to go ice skating with me today? It snowed last night and it's a beautiful Saturday" was what the text read. Spinel bit her lip and thought about it for a couple minutes, she gave a sigh and replied with a "sure" text. Spinel sighed as she got up from her bed, and headed to her wardrobe. Spinel stripped off her pajamas and began to put on a t-shirt that had seemed like it had dark pink shoulder pads with a broken upside down heart logo on the front, jeans, and some black snow boots. She then put on a dark pink hoodie with a stocking cap to match, which fitted over her two ponytails. 

After about a half hour, Steven drove up to her house, got out of the car and knocked on her door. Spinel opened the door to reveal a bundled up Steven, the male was wearing a puffy pink winter jacket, earmuffs, his usual jeans, and his pink tennis shoes. "Ready to go?" Steven asked excitedly. Spinel nodded "yea, I've never been ice skating before" she told him as they both entered the car. "Well I can teach you" Steven smiled. That damned smile always made Spinel's heart flutter a bit. Spinel's pink eyes glanced outside the window, watching the snowy landscape pass by. "How'd you sleep?" Steven asked, his eyes still on the road. Spinel blushed a bit "as well as I usually do" she chuckled. "Well, we're going to a pond I've been going to every year for ice skating, and I brought a couple pairs of ice skates for us to wear. My old pair doesn't fit me anymore but I think they'll fit you just fine" Steven smiled. Soon they pulled into the small parking lot that was close to the pond, which was completely frozen over. 

Spinel was sitting on a log that was next to the pond, having removed her boots and putting on the ice skates, however she was struggling a little with tying up the skates properly. "Do you need help?" Steven asked gently, already having put his skates on. "Y-yea, you don't mind do you?..." She asked, blushing a bit as Steven kneeled in front of her. Her memory shot back to that rainy day where Steven comforted her and helped put Band-Aids on her hands and knees. He's to sweet for someone like me.... she thought as Steven helped her tie up her skates. "Of course I don't mind, I wanna skate with you" he chuckled. After Steven was done, he helped Spinel stand up and carefully but awkwardly walk with her to the ice covered pond. As soon as Spinel stepped onto the ice, she began to slip a little bit, hanging onto Steven so she'd not fall completely. "Hey hey it's ok, I gotcha" Steven told her, still holding onto her. Spinel tried to not panic, her feet basically going all over the place until she could finally gain the balance she needed. "I'm gonna start moving, you ready?" Steven asked gently, in which Spinel nodded in response. Steven then pushed off a little, he started skating a little with Spinel clinging tightly to his arm. Spinel didn't dare move her her feet as she moved along with Steven. "Ready to start moving your feet?" Steven asked, slowing down a bit and grabbing Spinel's hands. Spinel gulped a little and eased off of his arm "yes, don't let go?" She asked nervously. "Of course, now just start pushing off using your feet" he told her, holding one of her hands. Spinel started to push off, only skating for a few seconds before doing the splits. Steven was caught off guard from her, is this what she meant by flexible? Spinel struggled to get back up, using Steven as a way to get back up. "You ok?" Steven asked gently, still holding her hand. "Yea I'm ok, I'm used to doing the splits" she shrugged. "I didn't know you could do that, were you a gymnast at some point?" Steven asked, skating a bit while talking with Spinel. "Yea, when I was twelve I was on a gymnast team, I had fun before I had to leave" Spinel explained, unaware that she was skating just fine while keeping her pink eyes on the male that was holding her hand. "I'm guessing you had to move?" Steven asked gently. "Yea I did" she shrugged. Soon Spinel noticed that she was skating just fine while holding onto Steven, she looked up to see him smirking. Spinel laughed a little, realizing that Steven was distracting her so she wouldn't be scared about falling. "I'm gonna let go for a second, ready?" Steven asked, slowly removing his hand from Spinel's hand. Spinel soon started to panic a little, but realized that Steven was only letting go and not actually leaving her alone. Steven smiled as he spun in place for a little bit, Spinel watched in awe for a bit. 

Time seemed to slow down as the I've under Steven began to crack, Spinel's eyes went wide as she began to reach for him while shouting "STEVEN WATCH OUT!". "Huh?" Was the last thing that Steven said before falling through the ice. Steven went under the water, and Spinel lunged her hand out before catching Stevens hand in her own. She soon dragged Steven across the ice while it continued to crack, reaching the shore before most of the ice fell in. "STEVEN?!?!" Spinel shouted as she began to panic and worry. Steven at the moment was to cold to respond, his whole body freezing and shivering as his whole clothes were soaked from the ice cold water. Adrenaline spiked through Spinel as she picked up the freezing male and carried his cold body to the car, knowing that he needs to warm up as soon as possible. 

As soon as Spinel got him into the car, she removed his soaked jacket and his ice skates with the socks. She immediately placed her baggy hoodie on him, which would probably be a bit tight but right now his warmth was more important. Spinel removed her skates and socks and put the skates on him while putting her boots on so she wouldn't step barefoot in the snow. After putting Stevens shoes back on, she removed her own hat from her head and placed it on Steven. She then got into the drivers die of the car and began to drive, adrenaline still running through her as she continued to whisper "fuck fuck fuck!" to herself. Steven was still shivering, even when Spinel put the heater on full blast. Spinel grabbed Stevens phone, glad that he left it in the car, and she attempted to call either Pearl or Garnet to no avail. She cursed to herself as she drove fast back to Stevens house. "Sp-Spinel?..." Steven whimpered, his teeth chattering. "Sh sh sh Steven, it's ok, don't talk, everything will be ok" Spinel tried to reassure him, holding his freezing hand in the process. Soon they arrived back at Stevens house, Spinel rushed out of the car and picked Steven up from the passenger seat, adrenaline continued to run through her body as she rushed him into the warm house. She shivered a little when she felt Stevens cold nose pressed against her neck. Steven continued to shake and shivering since his jeans were still soaked in cold water "I feel n-numb...." He whimpered as Spinel carried him to his personal bathroom. "You need to rinse off in a warm shower, I'll start making soup for you and throw your pajamas in the dryer ok?" Spinel told Steven, starting the hot water in the shower up for him. Steven nodded in response, he had enough strength to stand now and probably walk a little. Spinel left his bathroom and grabbed a pair of boxers for Steven along with some flannel pajamas, then rushed down and tossed them in the dryer. As Steven showered, Spinel heated up some tomato soup for Steven to eat, and after the pajamas were in the dryer for a bit, Spinel ran them up to Stevens room before returning to the soup. As soon as Steven was done showering and getting changed, Spinel helped him down to the couch, in where there was a thick, large blanket waiting for Steven to use, and soup on the coffee table to eat with. Steven sat at the couch after wrapping himself in the blanket, and quickly ate the soup, it was then that Spinel could finally relax. "How do you feel?" Spinel asked Steven as soon as he finished the soup. "Still cold, but a lot better..." He shivered and spoke softly in response. "You did scare me shitless...." Spinel responded, frowning a bit at Steven still being a bit cold "hey open your blanket" Spinel commanded a bit. Steven nodded and complied with her request, opening the blanket a bit. Spinel then pulled him close to her, resting Stevens head on her shoulder as she hugged him, the blanket covering the both of them. "Sp-Spinel?...." Steven began to talk but was quickly shushed by the female holding him. "Shut the fuck up and let me hold you..." She grumbled. Steven after a bit nuzzled Spinel's neck before dozing off, making the female blush hard. Spinel sighed a bit before laying back onto the couch, pulling the sleeping male on top of her and holding him close to her before dozing off herself.


	22. Chp 22 (treatment)

Soft, was the first word to pop into Stevens head as he started to wake up. He was slightly confused since he fell asleep in a type of sitting position on the couch, and was wondering how he laid down since he fell asleep on Spinel's shoulder. Steven slowly opened his brown eyes, the light hurting his eyes, he then realized that he has a head splitting headache. His hand was on something warm, soft and flat, sitting up slowly while hissing a little since his headache hurt really badly, the blanket slowly falling off of his warmed up body. Stevens mind hadn't caught up to reality yet, for he didn't notice that Spinel's shirt rode up her body a bit, and Stevens hand was laying flat on her stomach. Steven blinked a bit before his mind slapped him silly, making him realize the position he was in. He blushed heavily before scooting backwards fast in a state of shock. Spinel stirred a bit in her sleep, before slowly opening her eyes due to Stevens movement. Steven was still blushing a bit, then he sneezed into his elbow loudly. "Steven?" Spinel called his name softly, sitting up slowly, her shirt falling back down into place. "Hi Spinel.....I don't feel so good...." Steven winced, resting his head on the cushioned arm of the couch. Spinel pouted a little before scooting closer to Steven, putting her hand on his forehead "you're burning up, you might have a fever...." She sighed softly. Steven whimpered softly as he felt Spinel's hand on his head. "Rest your head, I'm gonna make you some chicken soup, and get some medicine for you ok?" She told Steven before standing up. Steven chuckled a bit "you're gonna spoil me if you keep treating me like this~" Steven joked before coughing hard. Spinel sighed softly "you've helped me many times even when I felt like I didn't deserve it, please just let me do this ok?" She stated before going to the kitchen. 

Steven sneezed a couple of times as Spinel made the soup, as the soup heated up, Spinel grabbed medicine for Steven and gave it to him. Steven took the medicine and sighed "I'm sorry I scared you earlier, I didn't know that the ice was too thin...." He mumbled. Spinel looked at him and frowned softly "you couldn't have known ok? I'm just glad I caught you when I did...." She bit the inside of her cheek "I was afraid I was going to lose you...." She finished, walking back over to him with the soup. Steven looked at the blanket on the couch, feeling both grateful, and terrible about what happened. He was grateful that it wasn't Spinel who fell in, and grateful for Spinel for taking care of him. But Steven also felt terrible for scaring Spinel like that, he never wanted that to happen again. Spinel handed him the bowl soup with a spoon, but then the doorbell rang. 

Spinel sighed and got up as Steven sipped his soup, both wondering who was at the door. Spinel opened the door, which revealed Amethyst holding a snowball. "Yo Spinel, what're you doing here?" Amethyst asked, tossing the snowball up and down in her hand. "Me and Steven were ice skating this morning and he fell in-" Spinel began to explain before Amethyst's face shown shock and worry "WHAT?!" The purple haired female voice broke as she shouted, dropping her snowball before rushing inside. Spinel was a bit shocked at home fast Amethyst could move, but stepped aside fast enough to where she wasn't run over. "Steven?!?? Are you ok?!?!" Amethyst asked, looking over the sickly male. "I'm fine, I just have a nasty cold right now..." Steven whimpered "Spinel has been taking really good care of me, heck I'm surprised she carried me into the car and into the house" he joked. Steven replied before sipping more of his soup. "Adrenaline can make you do a lot of things that you didn't know you could do" Spinel added before plopping back onto the couch. 

"Well I was gonna have a snowball fight with Steven, but I got a better idea~" Amethyst smirked "movie marathon~" she finished, looking at the shelves where there were movies placed. "Mm, alright then" Spinel shrugged in response as Steven nodded in agreement to a movie marathon. Amethyst picked a comedy movie and popped it into the DVD player, she then plopped onto the couch next to Spinel. Steven soon finished his soup and laid his head on Spinel's shoulder, which prompted the female to blush a bit as she wrapped her arm around him. After the movie ended, Steven excused himself to use the bathroom, and to brush his teeth. As soon as he was out of earshot, Amethyst gave Spinel a mischievous grin "sooooo you guys seem pretty close~" she teased. Spinel blushed at her statement, it was true though, she and Steven have grown a lot closer since their first meeting. "S-so?" Spinel stuttered, making Amethyst's grin widen a bit. "I'm surprised you guys hadn't made out yet~" Amethyst continued her teasing, knowing it was making the female blush harder. That thought burned into Spinel's mind, she never thought about what it'd be like to kiss Steven, and now that idea was on loop through in her mind. "Wh-why would we ever d-do that?..." Spinel mumbled, stuttering in the process as she looked away. "It's so obvious you like him~" Amethyst teased, she was obviously joking and didn't realize it was true. "I-it is?..." Spinel squeaked out, wondering how Amethyst found out. Amethyst's eyes widened at Spinel's words "wait it is true?!" she asked surprised. Spinel realized that Amethyst was only joking earlier and had just admitted that she liked Steven romantically. Amethyst's grin widened into a large smile, biting her bottom lip a little as she squealed, which made Spinel feel embarrassed.

"When did you find out?~" Amethyst asked excitedly, scooting a little closer. Spinel's blush deepened a more before she sighed softly "the night of the fall dance.....but I think I've been liking him for a lot longer then that...." She admitted. Spinel remembered enjoying Stevens jacket, her being more open with Steven than anyone else, her enjoying Stevens hugs and hand holding, her being jealous when other girls talked to him for so long, her being clingy from time to time, just her enjoying Steven in general in both good and bad times. "So are you gonna tell him?" Amethyst asked, which made Spinel snap out of her thoughts. "N-no, I don't think I will...." She answered right before Steven came down the stairs. Steven was wondering what she meant by "I don't think I'll tell him" since he only heard the last part of the conversation. He sat back next to Spinel and rested his head on Spinel's shoulder again. "So what were you guys talking about?" Steven asked, looking at the two. "Oh nothing, just girl stuff" Amethyst answered before shooting Spinel a quick wink before Steven noticed, she got up and put another movie in which was a romance movie. Spinel knew what that wink meant, it meant "I'll keep your secret for now, but I'll still tease you about it when Steven's not around"


	23. chp 23 (a special gift)

Ever since that day, since Amethyst made that comment, Spinel has found herself daydream at certain points during the day. She couldn't help but think about what it'd be like to kiss Steven, and that's exactly what she daydreams about sometimes when she becomes bored. Luckily, her imagination never took it further then a heavy make out session, although she knew that eventually her mind will cross that line. "Hey, are you alright?" Steven asked, poking Spinel's arm which helped snap Spinel back to reality. "Y-yea, just a little tired" she grumbled, slightly disappointed that she was interrupted mid-day dream. "Hey, it's getting close to Christmas, do you have any plans?" Steven asked gently. "No, why do you ask?" Spinel questioned, wondering what Steven had planned. "Well Pearl and Garnet are throwing a Christmas party. Bismuth, Jasper, Lapis, Peridot, Amethyst and Pink Pearl are coming. Do you want to come?" He asked, smiling softly. Spinel thought about it for a minute "do I have to get gifts? I don't exactly know the others that well" she asked, which was true. "No, were not really do a gift exchange, but if you do want to give someone a gift then that's ok to" Steven answered her question "sooooo is that a yes?". Spinel gulped a little, seeing the boy smile always made her heart race "y-yea I will be" she answered before turning her attention back to Opal, their history teacher. 

Spinel was hesitant before knocking on the door, she adjusted her skirt a bit before Garnet answered the door. "Ah Spinel, come on in, Steven is waiting" Garnet stated, stepping aside so Spinel could enter. Everyone was inside chatting, eating, or drinking eggnog. Everyone was also dressed in semi-formal clothes, which made Spinel feel like she underdressed a bit. She was wearing a long sleeved black shirt, her leather jacket, dark pink plaid skirt, and leggings with her combat boots. "Spinel!" Steven excitedly greeted, making the girl blush when her eyes landed on the male. Steven was wearing a black sports coat, the black shirt with the star in the middle, with pants and shoes to match. Spinel mentally screamed at herself, FUUUUUCK HE LOOKS GOOD IN BLACK! Steven cocked his head at Spinel when he saw her space out a bit. "You look good~" Spinel finally blurted out, realizing that it was dead air between the two. "Thanks, hey what's that in your hands?" Steven asked, pointing to the small gift that Spinel was holding. "O-Oh uh.....I got you a gift" She explained softly, handing it slowly to Steven. Steven smiled softly at the fact that Spinel got him a gift, he unwrapped the star themed present which revealed a picture frame, the picture inside was a copy of the selfie that Steven took when he and Spinel were at that performance for Sadie Killer and the Suspects. Steven's smile widened unbeknownst to Spinel, well that was until Steven picked her up and twirled her around in happiness. Both of them giggled a little, Spinel wasn't exactly expecting Steven to be able to pick her up like that, but then again Steven was a lot stronger than he looked. Soon Steven set her down on the ground, "where'd you get the frame? It's really beautiful?" He asked, still smiling. "I may or may not have shoveled a few driveways in the past couple of days to buy the frame I needed..." Spinel admitted shyly. "Well I really like it, our photo looks amazing in it~" Steven smiled "c'mon, let's get some eggnog~" he suggested, grabbing Spinel's hand and leading her to the eggnog. 

They spent the next couple hours talking.......and maybe a little bit of flirting here and there. Steven observed the crowd for a bit, Jasper and Amethyst we're just chatting away, Bismuth and Pearl were kinda flirting which made Steven chuckle, and......Lapis and Peridot were no where to be found. Honestly that didn't surprise Steven since how the two were acting, he just hope they didn't make a mess wherever they were. "Something on your mind?" Spinel asked, making the male turn back to look at her. "Yea, I'm just curious on where Lapis and Peridot went to" Steven shrugged. "Honestly with the way they've been acting, I wouldn't be surprised if they couldn't help but get down and dirty" Spinel joked, making Steven chuckle a little. "I really hope not..." Steven added on, sipping the last of his eggnog. Spinel chuckled a bit, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Steven blushed a little, he couldn't help but think how cute Spinel looked. "Steven, you alright?" She asked, waving her hand in front of his face. Steven shook his head to so he could focus "y-yea I'm sorry, I spaced out a bit" he chuckled. Soon he felt someone tug at his left ear, he turned to see Amethyst and Jasper. "Wh-what are you two doing?" Steven asked, putting his hand up to his ear, he then felt something metallic. "It was Jasper's idea, she got ya a little something, and since you wouldn't get a real one, we got you a magnetic one~" Amethyst smirked while Jasper chuckled. Steven could definitely tell that it was magnetic, and that it was in the shape of a rhombus, well more like a diamond. "Huh, that's pretty cool of you guys~" Steven grinned before turning to Spinel. "Hey Spinel, what do you think? Now I can have a piercing without getting poked~" Steven asked, the diamond shaped magnetic piercing was a light shade of pink. Spinel wouldn't stop staring at Steven in awe, he looked a lot more.....grown up with the piercing on. Steven waved his hand in front of Spinel's face, blushing a little from her staring at him."O-Oh I'm sorry, Jasper and Amethyst are right, you do look good with it on" Spinel smiled softly, embarrassed from being caught staring. "U-uh oh! Spinel I'm such an idiot" Steven smacked his forehead with his hand before reaching into his pocket. Steven then pulled something out of his pocket but kept it hidden "Spinel give me your hand" Steven grinned. Spinel let Steven have her hand, he grabbed her wrist gently and put attached something to her wrist. Steven pulled his hand away, which revealed that it was a type of bracelet. Spinel looked at it curiously, wondering why Steven gave it to her. "It's a friendship bracelet, I'm wearing one to, so now it shows that we're friends forever~" Steven smiled widely and happy. A tear fell down Spinel's cheek, which made Steven panic a little "a-aw geez, Spinel I'm sorry, c'mon let's get you a tissue" Steven stated, grabbing her hand and leading her to the kitchen where there were tissues. Spinel stood in the opening of the kitchen, waiting for Steven to grab something to wipe the runny makeup. "Ok so I found a paper towel instead, are you ok?" Steven asked gently, handing the paper towel to Spinel. She then looked up at Steven, showing that she was smiling when another tear ran down her face "honestly I don't I've ever felt better in a.long time...." She chuckled before wiping at her face, able to get the makeup stained tears off easily. Steven breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that those were tears of joy "thank goodness, I'm glad I didn't upset you...." He told her, giving her a gentle hug, in which Spinel returned the small affection by hugging him back. "Sorry, I just, I wasn't expecting that...." She mumbled, enjoying being in his arms. "Well I wanted to give you something special, so I made us those" he smiled before pulling away a bit. Soon there was giggling heard down the hall, both of them turned their head to see who was giggling. It was Lapis, Peridot, Amethyst and Jasper watching the two, and they were giggling for some reason. Spinel glared at the group, like she wanted to kill them for interrupting their conversation. Garnet walked into the hallway, as she saw the two she smirked, soon Pearl walked into the hallway, a bit confused. "Why is everyone giggling?" She asked, only for Garnet to point up at the door frame. Spinel and Steven both looked up at what Garnet was pointing at, and hanging from the door frame was a mistletoe. "Ok who hung up mistletoe?!?!" Pearl asked, a bit angry that someone put it up for some odd reason. "I asked Bismuth to put it up, it's an old tradition~" Garnet explained, continuing to smirk. At this moment, both Spinel's and Steven's face were a shade of pink, this was the last thing they thought would happen. "They gotta do it Pearl!~" Amethyst explained, ready to have her phone out to take a picture. "Spinel?..." Steven spoke softly as he grabbed her hand. "I-i am not exactly...." She whimpered, not able to get the last word out as she squeezed his hand out of nervousness. "Uncomfortable?..." Steven finished her sentence, stepping a little closer, which made Spinel blush deepen. Spinel gulped a little, she wasn't prepared for this at all. "Ok....how about this?.." Steven then leaned in and kissed her cheek for a few seconds before pulling away. Spinel felt her heart almost jump out of her chest, her whole body heated up along with her whole body turning pink, and she felt like she was about to faint as her soul left her body. Amethyst took a picture right when Steven's lips pressed against Spinel's cheek. "Alright alright! Let's leave them alone!" Pearl scolded the group, ushering the group away from the kitchen. "Sorry if that made you uncomfortable and-Spinel?..." Steven noticed that Spinel was basically not mentally there, even snapping his fingers in front of her face didn't help. After a couple minutes, Spinel's mind set back into reality as she realized what just happened, basically screaming in her mind about what just happened. "Are you ok?" Steven asked gently, squeezing her hand again. "Y-Yea I just wasn't ....used to it..." Spinel gulped, biting her lip a bit in which it looked like her canine teeth looked like a fang, she then looked up into Steven's eyes. Steven gulped a bit, oh my stars, I hadn't realized how beautiful she's looked.... he thought as he looked back into her eyes, knowing that she still had the pink contact lenses in. Spinel glanced to the left a bit and noticed that it was getting really late, "I-I should get going...." She whispered softly. "D-do you want me to drive you home?" Steven asked gently, still holding her hand. "No it's ok, Pink Pearl is my ride remember?" She told Steven, not wanting to let go. As if on cue, Pink Pearl entered the kitchen "oh did I interrupt something? I just wanted to say that it's almost midnight and we have mid-term finals tomorrow" Pink Pearl explained. "Ok, uh bye Steven...." Spinel replied, starting to let go of his hand. "Bye....Steven replied, seeming be a bit disappointed. Spinel stayed in place for a bit before leaning forward and kissing his cheek "ok bye!" Spinel waved goodbye before rushing off, grabbing Pink Pearls hand and dragging her off. Steven placed his hand on his cheek, slowly smiling as his heart soared.


	24. chp 24 (a new year surprise)

Steven couldn't stop thinking about what happened that night at the Christmas party, granted it was a couple weeks ago, but it still made him giddy inside. He was happy that Bismuth had set up the mistletoe, but on the other hand he couldn't believe that it was Garnet's idea. Steven was kinda zoning out during the science class, in which Peridot noticed before bonking him over the head gently with her binder. "Earth to Steven?? You there star child?" Peridot asked, setting her binder back down on the table. "Y-Yea I'm alright, I was just....deep in thought...." Steven answered, running his fingers through his dark curly brown hair. "What's gotcha thinking so deeply?" Peridot asked, adjusting her glasses a bit. "Just what happened near the end of the Christmas party...." Steven gulped a little, starting to blush a bit. "You mean the mistletoe?" Peridot asked, tapping her pencil against the table in the public library. "Y-yea, I was surprised that it was Garnet's idea for the mistletoe" he admitted, staring at his textbook. "Agreed, it seemed like something Amethyst would do. Although at least it seemed like it worked out in your favor a bit" Peridot smirked a bit. "Not helping...." Steven grumbled, playing with a corner from the page of his textbook. "Well it seemed like both of you enjoyed it~" Peridot chuckled in response. Soon the both of them received a text, Peridot checked her phone first and grinned softly. "What? What is it?" Steven asked, becoming a bit curious. "Jasper is throwing a new years Eve party tonight, and it seemed it is open to the public~" Peridot explained, showing Steven the text. "Oh cool, that sounds like fun~" Steven smiled before checking his phone, which revealed that he received a text from Connie. "Hey Steven, are you doing anything for New Year's?" is what Connie texted. "Yes I'm going to a party, do you want to come with?" Steven asked, hoping that they'd finally get to hang out. "Sure, I'll be at your house in a couple hours" Connie replied. Steven smiled a bit, which caught Peridots attention "what's up?" She asked. "My friend Connie is going with me to the party tonight" he answered while smiling. "Ah yes, the infamous Connie, that'll be interesting when everyone meets her" Peridot answered, packing up her stuff. "Yea, thanks for studying with me Peridot. I can't believe we'll have to do a test when we get back from our winter break" he sighed softly. "It'll be a breeze for me, but I'm sure you'll do just fine" Peridot replied before leaving the library with her things.

Steven was getting ready for the party tonight, Pearl was very reluctant about letting Steven go to one of those types of parties. However, Garnet managed to convince her that Steven was a responsible young adult and could handle himself just fine. Steven was somewhat dance walking as he got ready for tonight. He was happy that Connie was going to be there, but he was ecstatic about Spinel being there. As soon as Steven was ready, the doorbell rang, meaning that Connie was there. Steven rushed down the stairs and opened the door, smiling as he saw Connie. "Hey Steven, are you ready to go?" Connie asked gently. "Yea I'm ready, let's go!" Steven smiled, grabbing Connie's hand and basically dragging her to the car. After a bit of driving, they soon arrived at Jasper's house. Both Steven and Connie were in awe from how large the house was, it almost looked like a mansion. Steven and Connie walked into the house, where it was already crowded from most of the students. "I can't believe Pearl was able to let you go to a party like this" Connie stated, clinging to Stevens arm out of nervousness. "I can't believe your parents let you go to this type of party" Steven retaliated jokingly. "They only agreed if I just stick by you for the most part" Connie chuckled a bit, letting go of his arm. Steven chuckled a bit, he looked around the crowd for a bit before spotting Spinel amongst the crowd. Spinel was wearing a black short sleeved button up shirt, but it was unbuttoned revealing an extremely short tank top with an upside down heart that was broken in the middle, ripped jeans with her black combat boots. Her pink hair up in her signature two ponytails along with her usual style of makeup on. Steven blushed heavily when he spotted Spinel, Connie noticed this and nudged Steven with her elbow "Steeeeeeven? You there buddy?" She called his name. Steven shook his head and played with the buttons on his pink jacket "y-yea sorry I became distracted" Steven answered.

Spinel noticed that pair and smiled as she made her way over, "hey Steven, I didn't know you'd be here Connie" she smiled softly, feeling that familiar twinge of jealousy tug at her heart. "Yea, my parents wouldn't let me go unless I stuck by Steven" Connie chuckled a bit. "Well c'mon guys, let's go have fun~" Spinel stated, grabbing both of their hands and leading them further into the party. A few hours had passed, many people were drunk and either dancing, swimming in Jasper's pool, eating, or passed out drunk somewhere. "Hey Steven, wanna dance?" Connie asked, dragging him onto the dance floor. At the moment, Spinel was drinking a bit but not enough to get drunk, only to get a bit of a buzz on since she is rebellious like that. Soon everyone that was in and out of the house started to countdown which indicated that it was almost midnight. "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" everyone cheered, now starting to celebrate a bit harder. About a half hour later, it was time for Connie to go, and Steven lead her out of the house. "I'm glad Garnet is driving me home, I don't think my parents would've let me out of the house if they saw all this" Connie indicated to a couple people passed out on the lawn. Spinel noticed that Steven wasn't around and began to look for him, starting from the pool area. "I'm glad you came Connie, I hope you had fun" Steven smiled, giving Connie's hand a squeeze with his hand. "I did, I hope we get to do this again~" Connie smiled, leaning in to give him a peck on the cheek. Steven was glad to welcome it until he heard a car horn go off, he wiped his head to where the sound came from, only for his lips to come into contact with Connie's. They both froze for a few seconds, which gave plenty enough time for Spinel to see what happened. Spinel was looking for Steven and went to check the front yard, only to see both Steven and Connie kissing, not knowing that it was an accident. Spinel felt her heart break into a million shards in those few seconds, mascara dyed tears started to stream down her face before her feet started to take a life on its own. She began to Sprint away from the party, unbeknownst to the two that had separated. "I knew it.....I fucking knew it.....he doesn't like me the same way, and I let myself get hurt again...." was what ran through her head as she continued to run. After the shock wore off, Connie backed up quickly "I-I'm s-sorry Steven, I didn't mean to-" she began to stammer out an apology. "N-NO it was an accident, it's ok!" Steven started to reassure Connie "it was my fault!" He explained. "Whoops.....maybe I shouldn't have honked the horn...." Garnet apologized from the car, her voice remained the same, even though she did feel bad. "It's ok Garnet!" Steven and Connie reassured Garnet before Connie got in the car. "Bye Steven, I'll see you next time ok?" Connie waved as Garnet began to drive off. "Bye!" Steven waved goodbye, watching the two drive away. Steven stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets, breathing a sigh of relief, "well I'm glad no one else saw what happened, I wouldn't hear the end of it..." is what Steven thought before heading back into the party.


	25. chp 25 (now we're only falling apart)

Steven didn't notice this at first, but for the last couple days of winter break he was busy studying with Peridot. But as soon as school started again, he noticed that Spinel wasn't in class, which kinda surprised Steven since she's been doing very well with her attendance. He is to text Spinel a couple times during lunch but to no avail, after school he tried calling her, which in the end didn't work out. "Maybe she's sick?" Steven thought, he decided to walk to Spinel's house and see if she was home. As soon as he arrived at her house, he gave the door a very loud and heavy knock. No answer. Steven began to worry as he knocked again. Silence again, now Steven wasn't the one to break the law, but for the moment he'd have to make an exception. He tried the doorknob, which revealed that it was unlocked. Steven opened the door and walked into the house, he looked around the dark house to see if he could find Spinel. So far, it showed that Spinel wasn't home. Steven sighed a little in frustration as he attempted to call Spinel again, however this time it went straight to voicemail. Steven then decided to check places in where he and Spinel would hang out. 

After checking the Big Donut, Funland, and the boardwalk, he ended up in the park. Steven at the moment was both exhausted and worried, he sat down on a bench to rest, and took this opportunity to call Spinel again. This time he could hear her ringtone from a distance away, making him stand up quickly and following the sound. After a couple minutes, he came upon Spinel sitting in a small secluded area surrounded by hedges. Spinel was ignoring her phones ringing, soon it stopped and the notification said "7 missed calls from Ass Star". Spinel took a drag from her cigarette and puffed out smoke, she hadn't realized how much less she was smoking until that New Years Eve party. She remembered how she ended up in an alleyway to calm down, and how she started losing it again. She remembered how maniacally she was laughing while crying at the same time, it was a sense of deja vu for her. "Spinel?" Steven called out, rustling from the leaves were heard as Steven squeezed himself from an small opening between the hedges. Spinel didn't want to look at Steven, nor did she even want to talk to him. "Where have you been?" Steven asked, sitting down beside her as he attempted to give her a hug. Spinel shrunk back as she scooted away from him. Steven was a bit taken aback, he wasn't really expecting that. "Spinel? Is something wrong?...." He asked, scooting a bit forward next to her. Spinel didn't answer him, and continued to look away from his brown eyes and adorable face. Steven felt a bit discouraged, then he began to do what he does when he felt this way, he began to sing.

Hey, you.  
Show me that solvable problem.  
We can get through this  
I'll do the hardest part  
With you....

As soon as he was done, he heard a small growl coming from Spinel. "Shut the fuck up..." is what came out of that growl. Steven was taken aback even more, he had never seen her this upset before. "Spinel? what happened?" Steven asked, standing up "C'mon, we can talk about this...." he told her, holding his hand out to her. Spinel backhanded his hand away from her, she stood up slowly, which seemed to be a bit terrifying. "You want to know what happened?....." Spinel asked, still holding the cigarette in her other hand. "I-I thought i made that pretty clear...." Steven answered softly, still standing in the same position. "I saw...." Spinel spoke, hatred dripping from her words. "Saw? Saw what?..." Steven asked, he had never heard this tone of voice from Spinel before. Suddenly Spinel grabs Stevens face, holding onto him while pushing him though the hedges. Steven was both scared and surprised, he had never seen her act this way. Her grip on his face tightened as soon as they were out of the hedges "I saw you and Connie together!" She shouted at him, pushing him away from herself which made the male fall onto his butt. Steven's memory instantly shot back to that night, remembering the accidental kiss "y-you saw that?...." Steven asked nervously, scrambling to stand up. "OF COURSE I SAW!" she screamed at him, anger in her eyes. "I SAW YOU KISSING CONNIE! " Steven gulped a bit, he wasn't used to being shouted at "S-Spinel it wasn't-" he was instantly cut off when Spinel punched a tree that was right behind him, he heard the bark crack audibly. "YOU THINK IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES FOR YOU TO BE TOYING WITH MY FEELINGS?!?! WELL IM DONE PLAYING! "Spinel screamed, tears began to run down her face, then she began to cackle. Steven gulped out of fear, he's heard her laughter be full of happiness, despair, or forced hope, but never like this. Her cackle was something Steven never heard of, it was bone chilling.

"I STARTED TRUSTING YOU, CARING FOR YOU AND ALL THAT SHIT. YOU KNOCKED DOWN WALLS THAT I'VE SPENT SO LONG BUILDING AND REINFORCING FOR SO LONG IN SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME! I NEVER EVER THOUGHT I COULD FEEL WHAT I'VE FELT FOR YOU, BUT I DID AND I GOT HURT! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DIFFERENT. DIFFERENT FROM MY PARENTS, DIFFERENT FROM MY FRIENDS.... DIFFERENT FROM MY BEST FRIEND! YOU CHANGED ME, YOU CHANGED ME FOR THE BETTER, BUT NOW I'VE REVERTED BACK TO WHAT I'VE BEEN FOR SO LONG! A BROKEN, USELESS, ANGRY, MENTALLY UNSTABLE GIRL THAT NO ONE COULD LOVE! I THOUGHT THAT FOR ONCE, SOMEONE LIKE YOU COULD LOVE ME, BUT I WAS SOOOOOO WRONG! SO VERY VERY FUCKING WRONG! DON'T DO THIS TO ME! DON'T MAKE ME LOVE YOU BECAUSE YOU CLEARLY DON'T LOVE ME! YOU DON'T EVEN CARE ABOUT ME!......d-do you?...." Her voice cracked at that last part from screaming at Steven for so long. Steven was silent, he didn't even know what to say, he looked down at the ground, trying to process all of it. Spinel saw this and let out a giggle, tears still streaming down her face since the beginning "how funny, for the first time I'm right....." She giggled. Steven looked up at Spinel, holding back tears. "Just leave me alone...." She commanded softly, her body shook with rage and sadness. Steven began to take a step forward to her, but Spinel took a step back, she then turned around quickly and ran off. Steven didn't follow after her, thinking that she now hates him. He fell to his hands and knees and began crying, his tears splattering on the cemented path. Steven wanted to run after her, but couldn't find the strength to do so. After what felt like a few minutes, Steven stood up slowly, shaking and sobbing. The question that he's been asking himself for a long time was answered. His dreams, his feelings, his thoughts, they all added up to one thing, and it was that Steven fell in love with the badass, beautiful, hurting girl named Spinel. Steven looked at his wrist and saw the friendship bracelet, feel the materials he used to make the bracelet, and right now he felt like their friendship was ruined.


	26. chp 26 (is this it?...)

After that day, Steven sunk into a deep depressive state. He tried calling Spinel when he got home, but found that she blocked his number. His motivation seemed to have vanished as he came into school that day, revealing that we was only wearing these baggy clothes and his usually well kept hair was just a matted, tangled mess. As the days went on, he developed eye bags under his eyes, indicating that he hasn't been sleeping well. It was slow at first, so it wasn't noticable until about the fifth day, and the first to notice was Lapis Lazuli. Steven was eating alone that day since Amethyst was absent, and Peridot was sick so Lapis chose to eat with Steven. As he ate his sandwich slowly, Lapis was somewhat observing the male, "hey Steven? Is something wrong?" She asked, setting her chicken nuggets down. Steven gave a small sigh, he really didn't want to talk about what happened at all, "no, nothing is wrong...." He answered softly. "Steven, you're anything but a bad liar, it's obvious something is wrong" Lapis stated. Steven then looked away from Lapis, he then sighed before burying his head into his arms "I think I messed up bad...." Is what came out of his mouth. Lapis raised an eyebrow in both curiosity and confusion, "the fuck do you mean by messing up badly?" She asked, turning to face him better. "Well...... during the New Year's Eve party at Jasper's house, I was saying goodbye to Connie and.....we accidentally kissed.....on the lips...." Steven gulped, which earned a surprised look from Lapis "and Spinel saw that...." He finished, whimpering that last part. "Oh no, then what happened?" Lapis asked with concern. "I didn't know Spinel saw, and a couple days later I had a hard time tracking her down after school since I didn't see her all day. I finally found her in a secluded spot in the park and I tried talking to her, asking what happened and stuff like that. Spinel then became extremely aggressive and well..... She began to scream at me, crying and laughing about how I toyed with her feelings, how stupid she felt about thinking that someone could finally love her, how she thought how utterly useless she is, how unlovable she is, and how she thinks that I don't want her around....." Steven then felt a tear roll down his cheek. Lapis noticed this and handed Steven her napkin, in which he took to wipe his tear away. "I tried calling her after she ran away, but it turns out she blocked my number, and I tried talking to her the next couple days but she keeps avoiding me...." Steven sighed "I'm at my wits end, I don't know what to do...." He finished. "Hmm.....you need to figure out how to get her attention" Lapis started "and to do that, you have to kinda trap her" she explained. "Trap her?" Steven asked, looking right at her. "Yes, corner her into where she has no choice but to talk to you. I don't know how you'll do it but I know you can figure something out" Lapis told him as the bell rang. 

Spinel elected to skip her history class today, honestly she did not want to see Steven, even though she desperately missed him. She misses his hugs, his kindness, and that damned smile of his. Spinel took a drag from her cigarette and puffed a cloud of smoke, sitting at her usual spot by the trash cans that were behind the school. Spinel believed that Steven hated her, and was scared for the soon to be words that would come from his mouth, in which she believed that he would say that he "didn't want to be friends anymore." This made Spinel start to cry again, both angry and upsetting tears began to stream down her face, stained with her mascara, and her eyes were still red and puffy from crying earlier that afternoon. She grabbed her ponytails out frustration and pulled them down her head, screaming with frustration as well. How many tears has she cried for this guy? How many times has she worried about him? How many times has she......felt happy being with him? Felt loved? Spinel had lost count on all occasions. She stared at her fingerless gloves and sighed, she needed to talk to someone, someone that could help her understand without immediately taking a side. Spinel got up and started to walk off the school grounds, and started to walk away from the building. She began to walk around the area of downtown, looking at the Funland sign, looking at the Big Donut, and the arcade, remembering the best birthday she ever had. Soon Spinel found herself by a carwash, with a van parked in the parking lot with the words "Mr. Universe" on the side. Spinel looked down at the ground before whispering "fuck it..." before approaching the can and knocking on the side door. A rustling was heard from the inside before the door opened, revealing Greg in the entryway. "Oh Spinel is it? What are you doing here?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "Can we talk?..." She asked softly, wiping the runny makeup away from her cheek. 

Soon the two of them were sitting in the Vans back, the back doors open so they could enjoy the setting sun while enjoying the pizza that Greg ordered. "So what's on your mind?" Greg asked after he finished his slice of pizza. "Well.....me and Steven got into a fight, well it was more like me screaming at him...." She explained everything that happened that day. "Ooph, that's pretty rough kiddo" Greg gruffed, grabbing another piece of pizza. "I know, I miss him a lot but I think he hates me because of what happened..." Spinel sighed, finishing her slice. "Knowing Steven, he doesn't hate anyone so easily, well except for this guy named Kevin but that's a different story..." Greg chuckled awkwardly, scratching at his beard. "What should I do?.... I'm scared about him telling me that he doesn't want to be my friend anymore...." She sighed, another mascara tear rolled down her cheek. "Aw hey don't cry on me kiddo" Greg stated, grabbing a tissue he had and handing it to Spinel, in which she graciously took. "You know what I think you need? I think you need confidence, confidence in your self, and confidence in your hope for the future" he explained. "But how? I don't know how, I've never had confidence in myself other then knowing I could kick someone's ass..." She sighed softly. "Well, something will come along in where you'll finally have that boost that you need, and in the end, and everything will work out in the end as it should be" Greg explained "hey wanna hear a new song I've been working on?" He asked, smiling excitedly. "Well now I know where Steven received his smile from...." Spinel thought, "sure, why not?" She shrugged, thinking if everything will work out in the end as it should. After a couple minutes of listening to Greg, she got up from her spot and shoved her hands into her pockets in her leather jacket. "Thanks Greg, I kinda needed this...." She spoke softly. "Aww shucks, anytime kiddo. Oh, can I ask you something?" Greg asked, kneeling down in front of her. "Sure" she shrugged, looking at Greg, noticing that Steven had also inherited his father's eyes. "Don't feel so discouraged, friends get into arguments all the time. Even couples get into fights as well, that's just a part of being in a type of relationship. Whether it's a friendship, or a loving relationship, if the love runs true, everything will be good in the end" he smiled. Spinel chuckled and returned with a soft smile as well "thanks again" she replied softly, turning to see a motorcycle parked in the parking lot that was a few spots away from Greg's van. Spinel approached the motorcycle and saw that it was for sale, "hey Greg, who's selling this?" She asked him. "Oh that? Someone dumped it on me a while back and I figured I'd sell it since I don't really need it, are you interested in it?" Greg asked, looking at the punk looking female. "Yea, how much?" She asked, looking up at Greg. "Ah you know what? Go ahead and have it" he answered, tossing her the keys without a worry. Spinel caught the keys in surprise, "are you sure?" She asked. "Yea why not? I kinda don't need the money anyways so go ahead" he smiled, giving a shrug. "Huh....you're a pretty cool dude Greg Universe" she smiled, getting onto the motorcycle and starting the engine using the key. "Huh, I didn't know you could ride a motorcycle" Greg told her, watching her start up the motorcycle. "There's a lot about me you don't know about" she chuckled before driving away.


	27. chp 27 (resolvement?)

For the few weeks or so, Steven had been planning on how to get it to where Spinel had no choice but to talk to him, but without any type of violence or anything like that sort of thing. He started to take a bit better care of himself, although he'd sometimes forget to brush his hair. Steven sighed, realizing that he'd have to use the element of surprise if he wanted to talk to Spinel again. Damn he missed her, honestly he's been finding himself a bit touch starved from her. Steven sighed, thinking how he'd use the element of surprise, which triggered his memory to shoot back to his first day. He remembered how one second he was walking down the hallway, and then the next he was being pinned against the wall by an aggressive Spinel. "I can't exactly drag her into a closet like she did to me, but I definitely need to get her alone with me in where she won't get more angry at me....." Steven thought, tapping his pencil away at his desk in his room. "Oh Steeeeeeven~" a singsong voice was heard, which made Steven become both excited and annoyed. He sighed and got up from his desk and excited his room before making his way down the stairs. Soon Steven was bombarded by three gigantic hugs from his three aunt's, and honestly it was a bit hard to tell that his three aunt's were sisters. "Yellow, Blue, White, what're you doing here?" Steven asked after hugging the three woman. "Well Steven, we haven't seen you in so long...." Yellow began, her blonde hair spiked up, with a hint of grey running through. "And we missed you so much....." Blue continued, her grey hair brushed down, but almost looked like it had a shade of blue. "And we wanted to see how you were doing in school~" White finished, her semi-spiky white hair stylish as ever. "I am glad to see you all, but I'm not exactly in a good mood...." Steven began to explain, but was interrupted by Blue. "Oh stars! Something happened? " Blue asked, hugging the male again. "Tell us about it please?" Yellow asked, joining the hug. "Yes, because it's good to talk about your feelings!" White added on, not joining in with her sisters this time. Steven sighed a bit, he met his aunt's a couple years ago and well.....let's just say that they were completely different back then, "well you guys sure are getting better at this whole family affection thing" he chuckled. 

After making the his aunt's some tea, Steven sat down and told them everything that's happened with him in the past few months. Blue at the end looked like she was going to cry, "oh, our poor Starlight....." Blue began, tears in her eyes. "So adorable that you fell in love...." White continued, her hands together over her mouth slightly. "But also devastating in the end...." Yellow finished, her arms crossed over her chest. Steven sighed a bit, sometimes his aunt's can be a bit overwhelming for him. "What're you going to do?" Blue asked gently, wiping her tears from her eyes. "I'm still figuring that out, I know that the best way is to talk to her, but it's hard to talk to her when she keeps ignoring me...." Steven sighed, resting his face in his hands. "Well I think catching her in a corner is a good idea since she'd have to talk to you" Yellow nodded in approval. "The question is how? Is there a spot in school where it's secluded?" White asked, tapping her nails against the coffee table. "Probably, but I know she doesn't frequent the spots that I know of...." Steven sighed, setting his tea down. "Spinel is her name right? I think I've heard of that name before...." Blue stated, tapping her chin with her index finger. "Yea you're right, hmm....if I see a picture of her then maybe I can pinpoint where I know her from..." White stated, a curious look on her face. "Well let me go get a picture of her " Steven replied before getting up quickly and rushing to his room. He grabbed the picture frame that had the photo of Steven and Spinel in it, and started to rush back downstairs. "Hey, I got the pic-AUGH!" Steven accidentally yelped as he tripped on his own two feet, falling fast and accidentally dropping the picture frame in the process with a loud CRASH. "Oh Steven! Are you alright?" Blue asked worriedly, her two sisters following as they approached Steven. "Oh no, oh no no no....." Steven whimpered, tears streaming down his face as he stared down at the completely shattered picture frame. White pulled the photo from the broken glass of the frame, "oh Steven, is this Spinel?" White asked gently, kneeling by her nephew. "Y-yea...." Steven sniffled a little Blue knelt by the male "I'm sorry about the frame....." She whispered softly. "We can buy you a new frame?" Yellow suggested, taking the photo from White and looking at it. "No-i" Steven began to speak, but was interrupted by an overenthusiastic White, "oh yes! Let's do that as an apology!" She answered for Steven, then rushed out of the door. "Well I guess we're doing this, Steven will you be alright if we took this picture with us?" Blue asked, which made Steven seem reluctant. "It's only so we can get the right size" Yellow added on, hoping Steven would agree, in which he did.

After his aunt's left to look for a new picture frame, Steven was sitting on the couch, enjoying a cookie cat. When his aunt's visited, it was already evening and Steven figured that the shops were closed. Steven's suspicions were confirmed when he received a call from Blue explaining that the shops were closed and will find a frame for him in the morning. Steven sighed a little, But he knew that he'd be fine without the photo for at least the night. He looked at the clock and saw that it was almost midnight, and decided that it was time for him to get ready for bed. Steven got up from the couch and then he heard what sounded like the loud roar of an engine, which soon ceased before he heard a loud THUNK. He soon heard an audible thud coming from the front door before the repeating of his doorbell being rung had began. Steven covered his ears when the ringing somehow became louder, "ALRIGHT ALRIGHT I'M COMING!" Steven shouted over the ringing of his doorbell. He opened the door to reveal a very pissed of Spinel leaning against the door frame. "Shu wanna know something?...." Spinel slurred, and along with the strong smell of alcohol, Steven could piece together that she was drunk. "Spinel?...how'd you get here?...." Steven asked concerned, both for his and Spinel's safety. "Fucking knocked over my motorcycle.....and shut your pretty face up alright?!" She shouted, dropping the hidden beer bottle from her hand, making an audible CLANK. Steven's wide opened mouth was soon clamped shut out of fear. Spinel's two ponytails were messy, and her leather jacket slipping off one of her shoulders which revealed she was wearing a short tank top that had a type of collar on it. Her boots clunk on the ground as she made her way into Stevens house. "You're an annoying asshole...." Spinel slurred, finishing her question from earlier. Steven raised an eyebrow at Spinel, he knew she was drunk but she never insulted him like that. "I'm annoying?" Steven asked, blinking a bit in confusion. "I SAID SHUT UP!" Spinel shouted at Steven, grabbing his shirt collar and somewhat pushing him into the living room. Steven soon stumbled backwards and landed on the couch with Spinel looming over his body. She began to chuckle and hiccup a bit, "you're an asshole for hurting me feelings, and I think you don't actually care..." She soon whispered softly, swaying a bit in place. "I-I do care Spinel, listen what you saw wasn't what it looked like..." Steven began to speak, but soon shut up when Spinel growled angrily. "One. Last. Time. Shut the fuck up...." She hissed heavily. Steven breathed in deeply before speaking quickly "me and Connie accidentally kissed and it wasn't on purpose, me and Connie are just friends and we aren't boyfriend or girlfriend!" He finished quickly before blocking his face with his hands, thinking that Spinel was about to punch him. "Is that right?..." Spinel asked softly, in which Steven slowly lowered his hands to look at the drunken female. "Y-Yes.... I care about you a lot Spinel, and I wanted you to know it. I never ever wanted you to be hurt from me, or at all from anyone...." He spoke softly "I care about you so much...." Spinel looked at the carpeted floor for a minute before approaching Steven, "prove it...." She slurred, almost falling over onto Steven. "H-Huh?" Steven gulped, sitting up a bit. "I said....PROVE IT!" She shouted, grabbing his wrist and getting down to eye level with him, sneering a little before shoving him back more into the couch cushions. Spinel soon leaned in and had her hand pinning Stevens wrist into the couch, her other hand on the other side of his head, somewhat pinning him a bit into spot. Steven bit his lip a little, and decided to go against his good morales just this once so Spinel could let go of him and relax. He quickly leaned in and pecked her lips before pulling away quickly, blushing madly at what he just done. Spinel's drunken blush deepened at the male's actions, but then she soon giggled deeply. Steven had heard her laughter be either happy, excited, forced hopeful, or even maniacal, but this certain laugh turned his brain into mush. "You know Steven, I'm not just some type of food you can sample, I'm a full meal you can devour~" Spinel giggled, leaning in and kissing Steven deeply.


	28. chp 28 (tension?)

Sweet was the first word that popped into Stevens mind when Spinel's lips locked onto his, "Sweet, salty, something strange I can't pinpoint but it's strong and intoxicating...." Steven soon felt himself melting into the heated kiss, he felt Spinel's hand move from his wrist to rest on top of his hand, and he felt her other hand cup his face. Spinel soon was sitting on Stevens lap, basically straddling the boy, their kissing sloppy due to Steven never kissing someone properly before and combined with Spinel's drunken state. Their make out session only became more heated when Spinel started to explore Stevens mouth using her tongue, earning a small groan from the male. Soon they pulled away, Stevens chest hurting from the lack of air, his heart pounding away as he felt like putty under Spinel. Spinel noticed this and gave that same giggle from earlier "you taste rich dollface~" she smirked, a little of her canine tooth acting as a fang. "Oh stars this girl is going to be the end of me..." Steven thought as he gulped, looking at the drunken female that was sitting on him. Steven thought he saw heart in Spinel's eyes again before she leaned in to kiss him again, this time holding his hand as she began to explore his mouth again. The kiss didn't last as long this time, in which Steven found himself gripping the couch cushions with his other hand. "S-Spinel h-hold on..." Steven began, panting a bit but was soon silenced when Spinel placed her finger on his lips "shush babydoll~" she giggled, leaning forward and resting her forehead on Stevens forehead. Steven gulped a little in response, he tried to use his strength to at least push Spinel off of his lap but found that his arms felt like jelly. "Someone's excited~" Spinel giggled that same giggle from before, She then kissed his nose, his cheek, and started to kiss his jawline. Steven went wide eyed, blood draining from his mind as his breathing hitched. He soon found enough strength to reach up and grab her shoulder, "Mm S-Spinel w-wait~...." He shivered when he felt her lips on his neck. Spinel smirked against Stevens neck, knowing he could feel that, and then started to kiss his neck again. Steven whimpered a bit from the sensation, and then squealed when he felt Spinel nibble on his neck, his face turning even redder then before. "S-SPINEL!~..." He squealed again, feeling Spinel suckle on the same spot that she nibbled on. "You make such cute noises babydoll, I wonder how many more cute noises you can make~" she smirked before resuming her actions on a different spot on Stevens neck. Steven felt himself slowly giving in to this strange and foreign feeling, he knew he should stop her, but in the back of his mind he knew he didn't want this to end. 

The first thing that Pearl noticed when she pulled into the driveway was that the lights were still on, and that the front door was slightly ajar. She frowned a little as she parked the car, and left the vehicle after turning the engine off. Pearl then noticed a motorcycle laying on its side in the middle of the lawn, with a matching helmet laying next to the motorcycle. At first she was thinking about scolding Steven for staying up to late, but was now even more confused. Pearl adjusted the paper sack that was filled with groceries in her arms and started to walk up to the front door. "Hey Steven, would you mind telling me why there's a motorcycle on our-" Pearl began to ask as she walked through the front door, but stopped in her tracks with what she saw. Pearl saw Steven a blushing and moaning mess as Spinel was suckling, nibbling and kissing his neck. Steven was holding Spinel's shoulder, squeezing it a bit while Spinel's other hand was intertwined with Stevens other hand. Pearl was so shocked that she dropped the bag of groceries, which made various audible sounds since there were various types of groceries in the paper sack. This caught the attention of a now annoyed Spinel and a very flustered and embarrassed Steven. "This isn't a public show" Spinel huffed, in which Steven seized the opportunity to take control of the situation again. "Uh Spinel, why don't you nap on the couch while I help Pearl clean up?" Steven suggested, easing the drunken female off his lap. "Ah fine, I needs a recharge anyways dollface~" Spinel slurred a little before pecking Stevens lips again, she then laid down on the couch. Steven got up quickly from his seat and rushed to help Pearl pick up the groceries. "Uh duh, uh duh, uh uh...." Pearl sounded, still in shock from what she just witnessed. After Steven gathered the groceries up quickly, he helped push/usher Pearl into the kitchen. "Nothing's broken..." Steven stated, showing that nothing broke in the grocery bag, he then started some water for some tea as Pearl sat down at the table. After Steven gave her some tea, Pearl was able to snap out of her shock and look at Steven. 

Steven held up a hand, meaning that he needed a minute to breath. Honestly his mind was still mushy from earlier and his heart racing. It took a couple minutes but soon Steven took a deep breath and let out a very frustrated, and long groan. Pearl rarely saw Steven act like this, so this surprised her a bit, "Steven, would you mind telling me what happened?..." She asked slowly and softly. Steven took another deep breath and explained everything, how the diamonds visited, how the picture frame broke in which his aunt's said they'll look for another one, how he was eating a cookie cat when Spinel arrived at his house drunk, how Spinel was angry at himself, how he told Spinel how he felt and how she asked him to prove it, how he pecked her lips to prove it, "and then it just went to blissful hell from there...." He finished, accidentally cursing a bit. "S-Steven!" Pearl yelled a little "language!". Steven sighed a little "sorry but it's true..." He replied back, both mentally and physically tired. "Well what're you going to do?" Pearl asked, finishing her tea. "I'm just going to let her sleep on the couch, I'll get her a blanket for the night and hopefully she's not so grumpy in the morning..." Steven yawned a little before getting up from the table. "Alright then, will you be ok Steven?" Pearl asked, taking their cups to the sink. "Yea, goodnight Pearl" he waved a little bit to Pearl before leaving the kitchen. Steven then went to one of the closets and grabbed a spare blanket before bringing it to Spinel. He saw the female fast asleep on the couch, snuggling with one of the throw pillows. Steven gave a small sigh before spreading the blanket out and laying it gently on her body. Steven stared at the peacefully sleeping female, he could still feel a tang of that sweet taste in his mouth. Steven leaned down and gave her forehead a quick kiss goodnight before turning off all lights and going to his bedroom.


	29. chp 29 (the morning after)

The sun shined through the curtains of the living room, and beamed down onto Spinel's eyes, which prompted the female to start stirring a bit before waking up. Her eyes fluttered open as a pounding in her head started, she groaned as she took in her surroundings. Familiar couch, familiar tv, familiar curtains, this made her sit up suddenly, which made the headache worse. Spinel hissed as she pressed her hand against her forehead, wondering how much she drank last night. "Fuck..... everything is a blank.....all I remember was driving to....SHIT IS THAT WHERE I'M AT?!??" Spinel screamed in her head, a million questions ran through her head. Spinel noticed humming coming from the kitchen, which was soon followed by the sound and smell of sizzling bacon. Her stomach grumbled, cursing at herself for wanting food at a time like this when she wanted nothing more than to run out of the house. Spinel sighed and got up slowly, blood rushing to her brain as she hissed from her hungover. She slowly made her way to the kitchen, following the smell of the bacon and the humming. Spinel opened the door to the kitchen and saw Steven in his pajamas, humming and dancing in place as he cooked up some bacon and eggs. Honestly this doesn't surprise Spinel, she figured this was a common occurrence with this male. Soon Steven noticed Spinel in the doorway and he smiled "hey Spinel, ya hungry?" He asked as he placed some eggs and bacon on a plate. Spinel seemed hesitant about accepting his breakfast request, but reluctantly agreed as she grabbed the plate from him and sitting down at the table. Steven soon joined her while handing her a cup of coffee, "thanks...." Spinel grumbled before sipping the coffee. Steven ate a couple bites, awkwardness filled the air until Steven spoke up "so.....how're you feeling?" He asked gently. "Like shit....." Spinel mumbled, rubbing her head which seemed to help her hangover, along with the coffee "what happened last night?..." She asked, slightly annoyed. "Uhm....well...." Steven rubbed his neck, showing a couple semi-large bruises on two different spots. Spinel noticed this and stared for a little before Steven asked "before I start, what do you remember?..." He asked in response. Spinel grumbled a little before answering, "I remember I drank a lot during a party, getting irritated for some reason, and drove over here on my motorcycle.....I remember ringing the doorbell a lot.....and I remember that Pearl being shocked about something but I don't know what...." She sighed, eating her food "now tell me what happened...." She huffed, a certain tone of bossiness in her voice. Steven blushed heavily, playing with the collar of his pajamas shirt before sighing in defeat. "Well you drove here drunk, and had an empty bottle beer in your hand...." He began. Spinel went wide eyed as she remembered that he grabbed his shirt collar and basically pushing him into the living room. "Wait wait.....I grabbed you right? And.....I called you an annoying asshole right?..." She asked softly, sipping from her coffee. Steven confirmed this with a nod "yea, you told me to shut up several times but I desperately had to tell you that what happened on the New Year's Eve party wasn't what it looked like...." He continued. "Wait, that's right..... you told me the kiss was accidental and.....did you mean it?" She asked softly, blushing lightly. "Mean what I said? Of course I did, I really do mean when I said that I cared about you a lot and that I never ever wanted to hurt you.....and then you asked me to prove it...." Steven continued, rubbing his neck again. 

"Prove it?" Spinel raised an eyebrow, finishing her coffee. Honestly when she asked if Steven meant it, she meant his accidental kiss with Connie, although her heart soared when she heard Steven say that he cared about her. "Yea, you demanded that I prove how much I care about you, so I..... I-I.....I went against my good morals and.....gave you a quick kiss on the lips...." He gulped, flustered more from embarrassment. Spinel's face soon matched the color of her hair when she remembered him giving her a quick kiss. Her memory came and soon slapped her in the face when Steven mentioned how things became more "heated" after that. Spinel remembered how she had Steven pinned against the couch as she kissed him, how she took it a step further and explored his mouth, and how she......"OH GOD I DID THAT?!" Spinel exclaimed, pointing at his neck. "What?! What is it?!" Steven asked, panicking a bit as he stood up quickly. "THAT! I LEFT A COUPLE HICKEY'S ON YOUR NECK!" Spinel shouted, slamming her hand onto the table. Steven ran out of the kitchen and ran to one of those stereotypical mirrors in the hallway and looked at his neck, which revealed two deeply colored hickeys, which made him scream in frustration. Pearl heard all the shouting and rushed to the kitchen holding a golf club "what happened?!??" She asked in a panic, thinking something was going on. Steven rushed back to the kitchen, holding the collar of his shirt away from his neck showing one of the hickeys "LOOK!" He shouted, pointing out the hickey, which made Pearl scream in surprise. "Oh good you bruise easily" Spinel uttered, now getting a better look at her handiwork. "Wait was this from last night?" Pearl blurted out her question, not realizing that Spinel wasn't full caught up yet. "Wait she SAW?!" Spinel screamed in confusion. "Y-yea...." Steven whimpered, not really sure on how to get this whole thing under control. "MY BABY-" Pearl began to shout before Spinel interrupted her with a "stop your squawking already!" in which shut both Pearl and Steven up. "Steven just go get ready for school and figure out how to cover your neck. Pearl just relax and take care of yourself. I'm gonna go home real quick and look presentable and figure something out for my fucking headache, and I'll see you at school Steven" Spinel huffed before rushing out of the kitchen. Steven stood there for a couple seconds before rushing outside to see Spinel on her bike trying to put her helmet on. "W-wait Spinel, let's talk after school ok? Behind the building?" Steven asked quickly, which earned a smirk from the female. "Ya, sure" she replied before putting her helmet on and driving away. 

Steven arrived at school, looking nervous since he was hoping nobody would see the bruises on his neck, even though he hid them really well under a scarf. No one was the wiser, at least not until lunch rolled around where Steven was hanging out with Amethyst in a secluded spot. "So dude, have you talked to Spinel yet?" Amethyst asked, eating her gigantic burrito. "Sorta yea, me and her are going to talk more after school" Steven asked, his face flushed a little from being a bit overheated. "Dude that's great and all but it won't do you any good if you die from heat exhaustion" Amethyst stated, which earned a sigh from the male as he removed his jacket, but he still kept the scarf on. "Ste-man remove the scarf, you look so weird, well weirder than usual" Amethyst stated, getting a bit closer to the male. "I-I don't know what you mean..." Steven mumbled, rubbing the magnetic piercing that was on his ear. "C'mon man" Amethyst huffed, grabbing at his scarf "I know it's all soft and shit but you shouldn't kill yourself over this?" She grunted, fighting with Steven over the scarf. "N-NO!" Steven yelled when he felt that Amethyst had one the tag of war. "Geez man, I know you like this scarf but seriously, what's your problem?" Amethyst asked, looking up at Steven after observing the scarf. Steven had his hands on his neck, perfectly covering the two marks that were done by Spinel. "Dude what is with you today?" Amethyst asked "what's on your neck?" She asked, pointing at his hands since they were covering most of his neck. "N-Nothing!" Steven answered quickly, slinking back from the curious Amethyst. Amethyst growled a little in frustration before grabbing one of Stevens wrists and yanking his hand away from Steven, making the male's face flush out of embarrassment. "Oh.....Oh!.....OH! OHOHOHOHOHOHOH!" Amethyst began to laugh, her brain processing exactly why Steven was covering up his neck. "YO STEVEN YOU DIRTY DAWG!" Amethyst began to tease loudly which made a couple other students turn their heads to look at the duo "MY MAIN MAN STEVEN GOT SOME ACTION!" she teased while laughing hysterically. Steven at that point just wanted to disappear into his jacket and die. "Is that why you're seeing her after school behind the building?~" Amethyst asked with that mischievous grin. "A-AMETHYST NO!" Steven stuttered while shouting in response. "Aw c'mon man you know I'm just teasing~" Amethyst chuckled before finishing her burrito. Soon the bell rang, signaling for the students to go to their next class in which Steven grabbed the scarf from his purple haired friend and rewrapped it around himself before hurrying off to his math class.


	30. chp 30 (what are we?...)

After school, Steven went to find Spinel behind the schools building. He found her smoking a cigarette in the spot where they agreed to meet. Spinel smirked when she saw the male "hey, how'd the scarf idea go?" She asked, puffing out a small cloud of smoke. "Amethyst found out, but other then that it's ok" he sighed, leaning his head back onto the brick wall that he sat down against. "Oof, I assume that she teased the hell out of you?" Spinel chuckled a little, scooting a bit closer to the male. "Yea, I'm never gonna hear the end of it...." Steven grumbled a little before looking at the pink haired female "how's your headache?" He asked gently. "Better, thanks for the coffee this morning...." Spinel thanked Steven before taking another drag from her cigarette. "I'm glad, also where did you get the motorcycle from?" Steven asked, a question he's been asking himself for a while. "Oh I got it from your dad, someone dumped it on him and he gave it to me since he didn't really need the money" Spinel shrugged in response. "That sounds like him" Steven chuckled, he then notice Spinel shiver from the cold. "Where's your jacket?" Steven asked gently, scooting a little closer to her. "It smelled like alcohol so I couldn't really where it" Spinel answered, followed by another shiver coursing through her body. Even though Spinel was wearing a black t-shirt above her dark pink long sleeve shirt, black jeans and combat boots, she was a bit chilled since it became a bit windy. Steven removed his signature pink jacket from his body and held it out to Spinel, which made the female look a little confused. "Here take it" Steven smiled kindly, which made the female blush a little. "Idiot you'll get cold..." She chuckled at his kindness. "I have a hat and scarf, take it" he repeated, in which Spinel reluctantly grabbed the jacket from Steven and put it on. Steven smiled as he saw Spinel snuggle into the fabric. "You're to sweet to me..." Spinel spoke softly, leaning against him a bit after extinguishing her cigarette. Steven smiled a little, "I missed this...." He admitted softly, which made Spinel look up at him. "I did to, but I guess things are a bit different now...." Spinel added on to Stevens statement. "That's true, how do you feel about it?..." Steven asked gently, resting his hand next to Spinel's hand. "Honestly..... confused, a little scared, but at the same time happy...." Spinel admitted, blushing a little from her honesty. "Honestly my heart soared when we started to..... you know...." Steven blushed a little as his words trailed off, his pinky resting on Spinel's pinky. "Y-Yea...." Spinel mumbled softly, blushing a bit harder as she remembered what happened "I just wish I remembered doing it while we were doing it....". Steven nodded in response "so.....what are we?...." Steven asked gently, looking down at Spinel while blushing. "What are we?....you know, I don't really know....." Spinel answered, glancing up at Steven's brown eyes. "Well.....I enjoy being with you, and I enjoyed what we did.....maybe I can....I don't know, take you out on a date?..." Steven suggested, feeling his face heat up. Spinel leaned against Steven more while thinking, "you took me out for my birthday and ice skating, I should be taking you out on a date~" Spinel teased, making the male even more flustered. "W-Well is that a yes?..." Steven asked, "to the date thing I mean..." He mumbled that last part. Spinel giggled a little, almost the same from last night, "yeah, that's a good idea~" she smiled a little. 

They stayed quiet for a few minutes before Spinel spoke up with a question, "did you like it?..." She asked, a little embarrassed. "Like what? The kiss?..." Steven asked, his whole hand resting on top Spinel's hand. "Yea, even though I took things way to far..." Spinel joked a little, although being a little bit serious at the same time. "Of course I did, even when it went a bit further, I basically felt like Jell-O when you took a control..." Steven gave an awkward chuckle. "Yea? Maybe I should do that again~" Spinel teased, sitting up a bit and resting her chin on Stevens shoulder. Steven blushed madly a bit, adjusting his scarf a little when he turned his face to look at Spinel "I-I mean, I wouldn't mind...." He admitted cupping her face in his other hand. Spinel smirked, thinking that he'd only become flustered when she spoke the following words "then what are you waiting for doll face?~". Steven gulped when he heard the nickname she gave him, and he built up the courage to lean in and catch his lips with Spinel's lips. At first, Spinel was a bit shocked since she wasn't expecting Steven to take the lead, but she kinda liked it. She soon melted in the kiss, her hand resting on the back of Stevens head, which soon her fingers became entangled within his curly brown hair. The hand that Steven was cupping Spinel's face with slowly traveled down and rested on her waist, his other hand still resting on Spinel's hand. "Sweet, with a slight smokey taste, and that tang that I can't pinpoint but it's so addicting...." Is what Steven thought as he continued to kiss Spinel. "Melting, there's something rich and melting that I can't get enough of....." Spinel thought of as she kissed Steven back. Soon the two pulled away, panting a little from the lack of air, the both of them blushed heavily as they looked at each other after opening their eyes. "W-Wow....." Steven whispered softly, stars in his eyes after he was able to regain his breath. Spinel gulped a little, honestly she wanted more from the male that kissed her, she wanted much more. Spinel grabbed Stevens hand and gave it a squeeze before leaning in to kiss Steven again, blushing deeply from her own actions. Steven was a caught off guard a little but was soon kissing Spinel back again. His lips moving against hers as the kiss grew more heated, Spinel scooted closer to Steven so she could kiss him better. Steven's jacket started to slide off Spinel's shoulders as Steven started to kiss her deeper.

Soon the pair were interrupted by what sounded like something clicking on repeat. They pulled away from each other and looked around a little, their eyes landing on Amethyst who was holding a phone while sitting on Jasper's shoulders, both of the girls were grinning mischievously. As Steven's brain processed what just happened, he got a good look at the two girls and finally saw some similarities that were between the half sisters. Wild long mane looking hair, similar looking grins, and the same colored eyes. Then the next thing he knew, Spinel was chasing the two girls, running like mad after Jasper who was still holding Amethyst on her shoulders, and honestly it looked like a cartoon where the good guy was being chased by the bad guy. Steven grinned before he started laughing at the scene, he had a feeling about what Amethyst was doing but he didn't mind at all, except for the fact that Amethyst and Jasper had invaded his and Spinel's privacy but he'll get her back for it later. 

Earlier on.....

Amethyst was peering around the corner, watching Steven and Spinel being all cute together. Honestly if she had popcorn with her then she'd be munching away while enjoying the little show. Amethyst felt a tap at her shoulder and turned her head to meet Jasper's face. "Oh hey Jasper" she greeted, holding up her fist for a fist bump. "What're you doing?" Jasper asked, returning the fist bump "or rather what're you looking at?". Amethyst smirked "I'm just enjoying the show~" was all she stated before looking around the corner again. Jasper raised an eyebrow before peering around the corner to see what Amethyst was looking at. Once Jasper saw what Amethyst was looking at, she was surprised, "damn, I've never thought Steven would be with a girl like Spinel" she stated, her long hair fell onto Amethyst's face. Amethyst spit out a few strands that fell into her face "dude watch your hair!" She stated "I'm trying to watch!". Jasper sighed and picked up the short purple haired girl and placed her on her shoulders, "better?" She asked. "Yea, hey this takes me back" Amethyst chuckled, using Jasper's head as a pillow. Jasper chuckled a little at her response "yea, just be glad I can still do this" she responded, now peering around the corner again. "With the way you work out for football, I'm certain you can do this until you're in your eighties" Amethyst chuckled, peering around the corner as well. As soon as the half sisters did this, they soon saw Steven locking lips with Spinel, making Amethyst grin wildly. She gripped Jasper's hair in excitement, trying not to squeal as the scene unfolded in front of the two females. Jasper winced a little from having her hair pulled a little "ah, ah, Amethyst watch the hair!" She stated, trying not to shout in pain. "Sorry sorry, my man Steven got game~" Amethyst giggled a little, letting go of Jasper's mane. "Yea he does, I never suspected that Steven and Spinel had a thing for each other" Jasper stated as she continued to watch the couple kiss more. "Dude I gotta get a picture of this" Amethyst stated, tapping Jasper's head "can you get close enough?" She asked, getting her phone out. "Isn't that invasion of his privacy?" Jasper asked, holding onto Amethyst's legs while looking at her. "Says the one that almost gave him advice about wet dreams, now march on~" Amethyst smirked as she tapped Jasper's head again. Jasper sighed and started to slowly tiptoe towards the couple. As soon as they were close enough, Amethyst took a few pictures of Steven and Spinel basically making out, cursing in her mind when she forgot to turn the sound off, but both the half sisters were grinning mischievously as they were soon caught taking the pictures. Both Jasper and Amethyst got a good look at Spinel, noticing that Spinel had a look on her face, a look that was ready to kill someone. Soon Jasper was running while still holding Amethyst on her shoulders while Spinel gave chase. The half sisters laughing while being chased by the angry goth/punk girl, they could also hear Steven laughing in the distance as soon as they lost Spinel. "That was fun~" Amethyst snickered, which Jasper agreed with using a chuckle.


	31. chp 31 (date night)

A few minutes after Spinel chased Jasper while Amethyst was still on Jasper's shoulders, she returned panting and sweating a bit. Steven was still chuckling a bit where he was sitting "well? Did you catch them?" He asked while giggling. "No, damn Jasper and Amethyst, I lost them..." She panted softly, her face red from running hard. "You alright?" Steven asked, standing up and walking to her. "I'll be fine, just give me a minute" Spinel sighed a little, leaning against Steven. Steven proceeded to hug her to him, in which Spinel accepted happily. "We can do a movie tonight if you want?" Steven suggested, still hugging Spinel. "Mmmm sure, I can drive us to the movie theater on my motorcycle" Spinel stated, agreeing to the date idea. "Cool, you ok to walk?" He asked gently, even though he was enjoying the hug. "Yea, c'mon lets go~" Spinel smirked, pulling away from Stevens arms to grab his hand and quickly leading him to her motorcycle. "You have a spare helmet right?" Steven asked, precaution entered his mind. "Of course I do doll, I don't want you to ruin that pretty face of yours~" Spinel flirted, smirking at him as the two approached her motorcycle. Spinel opened the seat compartment and pulled out two helmets and handed Steven the spare helmet. Steven looked over the helmet that was in his hands before equipping the helmet. Spinel did the same with her helmet and got onto her motorcycle, she then started the engine, "get on" she told him. Steven hesitantly got on the motorcycle, he then wrapped his arms around Spinel's body. Spinel tensed from being hugged from behind, but soon relaxed as a blush creeped onto her face, which was hidden from her helmet. "Ready?" She asked Steven, in which she felt him nod in response. Soon they were off, Steven hugged tightly onto Spinel, making the female continue to blush heavily. "S-Steven can you ease up a bit on the hug?" Spinel asked, her body feeling hot all over. Steven loosened his hug in response, which made Spinel breath a sigh of relief. Soon they arrived at the movie theater, where Steven got off the motorcycle shaking a little, "I need to get used to that..." Steven gulped a little after removing the helmet. "You ok there doll?~" Spinel asked, smirking a little after removing her helmet, "one hell of a ride huh?~" she chuckled. "Y-Yea, let's go into the movie theater now" Steven panted softly, his knees felt like jelly, either from the cold or from not used to riding on a motorcycle. "Need help?" Spinel asked softly, grabbing Stevens hand and squeezing it gently. That seemed to snap Steven back to his senses, as he looked at his hand that was intertwined with Spinel's hand, "not anymore~" he smiled, making the female blush and giggle a little.

The pair soon entered the movie theater, hand in hand as they approached the ticket counter. "Soooo what do you want to see?~" Steven asked while smiling as he browsed the movie selection. "Hmm, I'm not sure, a lot of these movies are cheesy....maybe this one?" Spinel suggested, pointing out a movie that was in the horror genre. "Sure~" Steven agreed, he then ordered two tickets for the movie that Spinel pointed out. After they got their tickets they went to get some treats to snack on during the movie, which was popcorn, soda, and candy. "Do you want butter on your popcorn?" Steven asked gently as he grabbed the popcorn and his drink. "Sure, I got the candy and my soda~" Spinel smirked, which always made Steven blush a little. "Ok, give me a second" Steven smiled before heading to where they dispense the butter. After getting a good amount, Spinel had to use the restroom so Steven waited by the empty counter for her to return. Steven went to grab some napkins while sipping on his soda, and then all of a sudden, he accidentally bumped into someone, resulting on Steven spilling soda on himself. "Oh my gosh are you ok?" A female voice was heard, which made the male look at the girl. The girl had a large afro which seemed to be dusted pink, and was wearing fashionable clothing which included a denim jacket, a skirt, and a very girly shirt with a pink Lion on it. "Y-Yea I'm alright, are you ok?" Steven asked as he took a step back to look at his now soda drenched shirt. "Oh here let me help" the female stated before grabbing a few napkins and grabbing the Hem of Stevens shirt, pulling the male a bit closer before dabbing at his soaked shirt. "Oh uh, you don't have to do that" Steven chuckled awkwardly, blushing a little from accidentally spilling on himself. "Don't be silly, I wasn't looking where I was going" the girl replied before looking at him while smiling, "I'm Penelope" she introduced herself. "I'm Steven" he introduced himself, still holding the half empty cup. "Can I buy you another soda? To make up for bumping into you?" Penelope asked, her voice sweet and soothing. "No it's ok, I can just get a refill" Steven stated. "Are you sure? I can't let someone as sweet as you kinda suffer from my clumsiness" Penelope stated, making the male blush a little from the compliment.

Spinel soon came out of the bathroom, only to see a random female dabbing at Steven's shirt. She felt that oh so familiar twinge in her heart, that twinge that made her start to feel jealous all over. Spinel slowly approached the two without either one of them noticing, she then heard the girl call Steven "sweet" which prompted the female to wrap her arms around Stevens arm from behind. Spinel then gave Steven a quick kiss on the cheek before resting against him while holding his arm "sorry that took a little while, hey what happened to your soda?" Spinel asked, making it look like that she didn't see anything. "Oh, I accidentally bumped into Penelope here and spilt my soda" Steven explained, blushing a little from being kissed on the cheek. Why does that name ring a bell? Why does she look familiar?.... Spinel asked herself before looking at Steven "I see, well we can get you more soda" she stated before glancing at Penelope, slightly glaring in the process. "Penelope, this is-" Steven began to introduce Spinel to Penelope but was interrupted by Spinel finishing his sentence with a "-his girlfriend". Penelope giggled a little from the pairs interaction "ah I see, I'm glad a cinnamon roll has someone that's snatched up his pretty self~" she teased. Steven blushed when Spinel called herself his girlfriend, that made his heart flutter a bit. When Spinel heard Penelope giggle and smile like that, she felt time slow down as she stiffened. However, Spinel kept her composure and hold on Stevens arm. "But I do think that friends should exchange phone numbers, soooooo...." Penelope quickly grabbed a napkin and wrote her digits on it before handing it to Steven "here ya go friend~" she stated while smiling. "Oh thanks" Steven smiled sweetly, unaware of Spinel's behavior at the moment as he tucked the napkin into one of his jeans pockets. "Well enjoy the movie~" Penelope waved at the couple before walking away. As Steven tried to move, he found Spinel frozen in place since the female was deep in thought. "Spinel? You ok?..." He asked softly as he gently got out of her grip. Spinel was looking down at the carpeted ground, holding back tears as her hands were clenched tightly into fists. "Fucking bitch...." Spinel spat out softly so only Steven could hear. "Do....do you know her?..." Steven asked gently, cupping Spinel's face in his hands and angling her head so she'd look up at him. "Yea I know her...." Spinel grumbled angrily as she looked straight into the male's brown eyes. "Who was she?..." Steven asked, his curiosity peaked. The color from Stevens face drained away when Spinel answered his question with the following answer, "she WAS my best friend...." was what spilled out from her lips.


	32. chp 32 ( date night part 2)

Steven gulped a little, he's never seen Spinel like this before. He's never seen Spinel frozen in place like this before, unable to look at him while she stared at the ground. "Spinel? Hey it's ok, look at me please?" Steven begged, grabbing onto Spinel's shoulders as he squatted down a little bit to meet her gaze. Spinel continued to refuse to look in Stevens eyes, although it was extremely hard not to since she finds him irresistible. Steven continued to try to have her meet his gaze, so he resorted to one last tactic. He started to kiss all over her face, pecking her cheeks, nose, forehead and chin repeatedly. At first it didn't work, but soon Spinel slowly started giggling since it began to tickle a bit, and turning into a blushing mess. "Ok ok stop~" Spinel giggled, playfully wrestling in his arms a bit. "No, it's making you smile~" Steven chuckled victoriously. Spinel blushed a bit more from his comment "we're gonna miss the movie~" she smirked. "Then let's get going then~" Steven smiled. After getting his soda refilled, he and Spinel took their treats and drinks into the movie theater, and they both sat in the back row straight down the middle. Steven held the popcorn in his lap while Spinel had the candy in her lap, he then wrapped his arm around Spinels shoulder, which made the female rest her head on the males shoulder. During the movie, Steven would accidentally jolt in his seat from jump scares, which always made Spinel snicker a little from his reaction. Once, he jolted so hard that popcorn accidentally flew from the bucket, some kernels accidentally landing his his curly brown hair. Spinel had to cover her mouth with both of her hands to muffle her laughter from how Steven looked at that moment. As soon as her laughter subsided, she helped pick the popcorn pieces off of Steven, and then after she was done, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "You ok now?~" Spinel asked softly, so as not to disturb the other patrons that were watching the movie. " I am now, thanks to you~" Steven smiled again, the same smile that made Spinel's heart beat faster. She didn't want the time together to end, but sadly like all movies, this one soon came to a close. Steven stood up with his seat before helping Spinel up from her seat, he then gathered all of their trash and tossed it away. A lightbulb went off in Spinel's brain, meaning that she thought of a good idea, "hey Steven, I got an idea~" Spinel smirked, making the male blush a bit. "What's your idea?" Steven asked, stepping closer to Spinel. The pink haired female only continued to smirk before grabbing Stevens hand and quickly rushing out of the building. 

Steven was hugging Spinel tightly again as she drove the motorcycle through the town, his face being protected from the wind and cold. His jacket fluttered on Spinel since she was still wearing the pink jacket as she drove the motorcycle. Soon she turned onto a dirt road that lead into a small forest, making the male extremely curious as to where they're going. After driving for what felt like about fifteen minutes, the vehicle came to a stop, which made Steven get off first. Spinel got off her motorcycle and removed her helmet, after she set her helmet on her motorcycle, she grabbed Stevens hand after he removed his helmet and rushed off in between the large trees. "Where are we going?" Steven asked, his curiosity peaked as he was basically being dragged by the excited Spinel. "You'll see~" was all the female said, squeezing Stevens hand as she rushed along with him in tow. A couple minutes passed by before they arrived in a small clearing, the night sky visible with no clouds covering the stars. Spinel soon chose a spot in the soft and cooling grass to sit down in, she patted the spot beside her, which prompted Steven to sit down beside her. She removed the jacket from her torso and laid it down flat behind them, "lay down with me~" she smiled softly before resting the back of her head on the comfortable pink fabric that made the jacket. Steven copied Spinel's actions, laying down right next to her, he then noticed that Spinel was looking up at the night sky. "Spinel?...." Steven began to speak softly, but was quickly shushed when Spinel said "watch the sky, it won't take long". Not even a minute passed before the night sky lit up, meteors shooting across the starry sky. Steven watched in awe, he's never seen a meteor shower before, he had stars in his eyes as he watched in amazement. "I was planning on seeing this on my roof at home, but I decided that I didn't want to see this alone..." Spinel explained quietly, her hand travelling down Stevens arm towards his hand, in which she soon intertwined her fingers with his. "I'm glad that you wanted to watch this with me~" Steven smiled, both of their cheeks dusted with a shade of pink. "Also guess what day it is?" Spinel asked, playfully smirking a little. "No, what day is it?" Steven asked, clueless to the reasoning behind her smirk. "February fourteenth~" Spinel giggled a little as she answered. "It's.... Valentine's day?" Steven asked, mentally slapping himself for forgetting. "It is~" she giggled, squeezing his hand in reassurance, making Steven feel a bit better about his forgetfulness. Spinel and Steven continued to lay in silence for a few minutes, watching the meteors zoom by the earth. 

"Hey.....Steven?... Can I ask you something?....." Spinel asked softly, squeezing his hand more. "Of course, what's up?" Steven responded, glancing at the girl that laid next to him. "Why do you like me?...." She asked softly, glancing away a little as she blushed from her embarrassing question. Steven turned and propped himself up on his arm as he looked at Spinel, "what do you mean?" He asked. "Well....when we first met, I wasn't exactly the nicest person to you. I was rude, aggressive, anger prone, and just downright awful to you. But you were so kind to me right away, offering to help pick up the shit I dropped. Smiling at me when I didn't deserve it, comforting me when I almost hurt you, and forgiving me when I thought the worst of you.....but after all this time, you're right here beside me, but why?" Spinel asked softly, trying to hold back tears that were forming in the corner of her eyes. "It's true, you were pretty mean to me.......but, I didn't give up. You started open up to me after a while, and I got to see the real you. I got to see the soft, kind, flirtatious, brave, smart, funny, and sweet girl that you are. I know you're still hurting after all this time, but I wanna be here for you. I wanna be there when you're down, I wanna be there when you're angry, I wanna be there at your worst so I can see you again at your best" Steven confessed, serious determination on his face as he sat up while looking at Spinel. Spinel sat up, and Steven didn't need to see properly to know that mascara was running down her cheeks due to her tears. "It's funny....." She began to speak softly, giving a saddened chuckle "I never thought someone like you would fall for someone like me...". Steven scooted a bit closer to her and took out a couple tissues he was carrying in his jeans pocket. He took one tissue out and cupped Spinel's face in one hand while he wiped her tears away. "I'm glad I fell for you, I fell for you hard, and I don't think I'll ever get back up from it~" Steven flirted before giving a small chuckle. Spinel gave a small laugh at his cheesy line, nuzzling into his hand a little before speaking "and I'm glad I fell for you Steven Universe~" she smiled. One moment, Spinel was smiling at Steven, and the next, her lips were locked on Stevens. Her hands resting flat against his chest, Stevens hand was still cupping Spinel's face as his other hand held onto her side. Everything felt like a magical fairy tale scene at that moment; the meteors and the moon giving off the perfect lighting, just the two of them sharing a loving kiss, and no one to interrupt their time together as they continued to tenderly kiss. Spinel felt like a rebellious princess that had finally found her prince charming, and nothing could ever change that.


	33. chp 33 (hot n' cold)

After what felt like hours, but really it was a few seconds, Spinel and Steven pulled away from their kiss. Panting a little, their breaths steaming a little due to the coldness, although neither of them noticed the chill due to them staring intently at each other. Spinel bit her lip, showing one of her canines which again acted like a fang, "I want more...." .is what mentally shot through her head as she looked at his lips. "Spinel I-" Steven began to speak, but was abruptly cut off when Spinel grabbed the scarf that was around his neck and pulled him into a slightly rough kiss. Steven was a bit caught off guard from Spinel's actions, but didn't hesitate in kissing her back with the same affection. Spinel continued to use one hand to keep a hold on his scarf while kissing him deeply, running her fingers through his curly brown hair as Steven wrapped his arms around Spinel's waist. Steven shivered a little when he felt Spinel's cold fingertips against his neck, but that feeling quickly disappeared as he moved his lips against Spinel's. Something sparked inside Spinel, something that made her confused yet excited at the same time, excited for what? Spinel didn't know yet, but damn she didn't want to wait. She decided to be a little playful during the heated kiss, and gave Steven's bottom lip a little nibble. The male opened his mouth a little to release a type of squeal, which gave the female enough time to do what she wanted to do. Spinel explored Stevens mouth again, tasting something salty, sweet, and something that was rich and melting in her mouth. Steven was caught off guard by her actions, and lost his balance a bit by falling backwards a bit, but caught himself using his elbows. However, this time Steven wasn't going down without a fight as he began to explore Spinel's mouth in a fight for dominance. He tasted something extra sweet, salty, and that addicting taste that he could never pinpoint, but that just made everything even more intoxicating for the two. They had to pull away again for air, but that didn't last long when Spinel swung herself over Steven, and straddled his lap before pulling him into another heated kiss, winning in dominance this time. "Fuck~" she gave a soft gasp as she pulled away slightly before going back to explore Stevens mouth. At this point, the blood rushed from the male's brain and through his body, groaning softly as Spinel's tongue continued to brush against his own. Steven was now fully lying in the grass, which felt cool against his heated skin. His right hand pinned above his own by Spinel's hand since they were both intertwined, his left hand firmly rested against Spinel's lower back. Spinel's left hand entangled in Stevens brown curly hair as she continued the addicting kiss, but she wanted more, she yearned for more, and she wasn't one to back down so easily when she was hooked. Steven's heart thumped heavily and hard in his chest, he didn't want to stop, he didn't want this moment to stop ever. 

Bzzzzt

Bzzzzzt

was soon heard as Stevens phone was vibrating in his pocket. The two pulled away, both panting slightly before giving a groan of annoyance from being interrupted. Spinel looked into Stevens eyes and smirked "you don't have to answer it you know~" she teased. Honestly that was true, Steven could let the phone go to voicemail and he and Spinel could resume their actions. However, Steven sighed a little as he looked back up at Spinel "you know I gotta answer" he stated. Spinel gave a playful whimper of defeat before lazily laying on Steven while he fished his phone from his pocket. "Steven? You there? Your aunt's are here and wanted to give the picture back" Pearl explained on the other end of the phone. Steven gave a small sigh, knowing he'd have to go home before they started a search party. "Ok I'm coming home" he answered, Spinel gave him a couple peck on his cheek while he spoke. As soon as Steven was done with the phone call, he sat up along with Spinel, both of them blushing heavily from earlier. "I'm guessing that you're needed home?" Spinel asked, wrapping her arms around Stevens neck. "Yea I do, but I can carry you back to your bike~" Steven smirked, making the female blush and giggle a little "sure, go ahead~" Spinel smirked, she then screeched in surprise when Steven picked her up bridal style and began to run back to the motorcycle. Soon they were back at Spinel's bike, which made Steven set the female back down on her feet. After equipping their helmets, and getting back on the bike, they were soon driving back down the dirt trail and back onto the main road. Steven continued to hug Spinel from behind as they rode down the road, the female felt hot all over again when she felt Steven hugging her closely to himself, or rather himself to her. 

Steven's legs still felt like jelly from earlier, when Spinel fought him over dominance, he felt a new type of connection. It felt unlike anything he's felt before, what was it? It wasn't like how you connect with friends, or familiar, but something special that he couldn't quite understand, and he wanted, no, needed to complete that connection he felt with Spinel. Steven's thoughts were interrupted when Spinel's motorcycle came to a slow stop, he then saw that he was at home. "Do you want to come in?" Steven asked gently after he had removed his helmet and placed it back in the seat compartment of Spinel's motorcycle. "Mmm yea sure, might as well meet the rest of the family" Spinel responded while shrugging, she put Stevens jacket back on after he was done carrying her earlier. They both walked up to Stevens front door, hand in hand as he opened the door so both of them could enter the house. "Steveeeeeeen is that you? We've got something to show you~" White's singsong voice was heard as soon from the entrance. "Yea it's me, and I've got someone to introduce you to!" Steven answered back after removing his shoes "you ok with this Spinel?" He asked gently, squeezing her hand a bit. Spinel nodded in response, smiling out of nervousness. Steven then slowly walked with her into the living room, where his aunt's, Pearl and Garnet were sitting at "everyone, meet my girlfriend Spinel~" he motioned, using his hand. "Sup" Spinel answered simply, although she was blushing madly from Steven calling her his girlfriend. Soon the two of them were being hugged to death by Stevens aunt's, cooing and gushing about how they were so adorable. Soon Spinel and Steven were feeling a bit overwhelmed, which Garnet noticed and soon had to drag the three away a little from the couple. "Ah I'm sorry, it's so cute, our nephew with Spinel and- oh Yellow! The photo album, did you bring it?" Blue asked, looking at her fellow sister. Spinel looked at the three, wheels turning in her head as she looked at the older blonde. "Yes yes, I thought Spinel seemed familiar so I went looking through old photos from when I was a coach for a gymnast team" Yellow explained, grabbing her photo album and opened it to a certain page. On the page was an old photo from years ago, Yellow was in her coach outfit, and was standing next to a small team of girls. All the way to the left was a brown haired girl, smiling happily with her hair up in buns that almost looked like hearts. Soon it clicked, Spinel stared at the photo as Yellow pointed to the girl in the photo "isn't that you Spinel?" She asked gently. "Yea, yea it is.....god I haven't seen this photo in years.....I remember that you were my coach" she answered, looking up at Yellow "are you still a coach?" She asked gently. "No, I had to retire after an accident.....it's good to see you again Spinel, are you still doing gymnastics?" Yellow asked after closing the photo album. "No I don't, I don't really have much of a hobby anymore" she shrugged, her arm wrapping around Steven. "Easy Yellow, we should let the happy couple be. Oh and Steven, we were able to get the frame fixed" White stated, handing the frame back to Steven. "Oh wow, you can't tell where it broke" Steven smiled widely out of happiness. "It broke? When did that happen?" Spinel asked gently, a little upset about the frame being broken. "Yea.....I tripped yesterday while holding the picture frame and it fell from my hands when I fell.....thank you again" Steven explained before turning to his aunt's, thanking them while smiling. Spinel felt relieved, now knowing that it was an accident and not broken on purpose. "I should get home" Spinel stated, looking at Steven while still linking her arm with his arm. "I'll walk you to your motorcycle~" Steven smiled sweetly before walking back to the front door with Spinel still holding onto his arm tightly. Soon, Spinel got onto her motorcycle and grabbed her helmet from the seat compartment. "One second" Steven stated, holding Spinel's arm as to stop her from putting on her helmet. "What?" Spinel asked, a bit confused on why he stopped her. Steven smirked and quickly leaned forward, locking his lips with her for a few seconds before pulling away. Spinel looked at him, blushing madly while looking surprised, she then heard him say "goodnight!" while smiling. Spinel blushed hard before giggling softly "you flirt, goodnight babydoll~" she smirked before returning the kiss, she then put her helmet on and drove off. Steven pranced into his house, feeling like he was on cloud nine as he danced upstairs happily. Garnet gave a small chuckle as she saw Steven go upstairs, "well someone's in love~" she joked.


	34. chp 34 (fight)

It's been a little over a month since Steven and Spinel had officially started dating, and they could not get enough of each other. Everyone at school always mentions the fact that neither of them left each other's side unless it was to go to their separate classes. "Yeeeeesh do you guys need a crowbar to breathe?" Amethyst stated, looking at Spinel that was sitting on Stevens lap, and Steven was hand feeding Spinel her pizza slice. "Hm? No I have enough napkins" Steven answered, obviously not listening to Amethyst's question. "Ugh get a room you two" Amethyst groaned, which was then followed by Peridot bonking her over the head with her binder. "Leave the two alone, Lapis and me are like that and you don't complain" Peridot stated as Lapis wrapped her arm around Peridots waist. "Yea but I've known you guys longer and for the love of God I don't see you two feeding each other like them" Amethyst stated, jerking her thumb towards Spinel and Steven. "It's probably a good thing that you don't see our feeding sessions~" Lapis smirked, pulling the now madly blushing blonde nerd closer to her. Amethyst rolled her eyes, knowing what Lapis meant by "feeding sessions" and gave a small annoyed groan. "But they're enjoying themselves so let them have their fun" Peridot continued, still blushing from what Lapis said. "But they're together, like, all the time" Amethyst pointed out, Steven and Spinel unaware that Amethyst was talking about them. "True, sometimes it's good to spend some time apart to focus on other things, but they're doing just fine with each other and their free time" Lapis explained "couples hanging out together is a good thing" she finished. "Yeah I guess, but me and Steven need to study for a math test and it's hard to do so when he and Spinel are stuck together like Velcro" Amethyst sighed. "I'll help you study Amethyst, I don't think you'll be able to get Steven away from Spinel at the moment" Peridot chuckled, looking at Spinel and Steven resting their foreheads against each other while smiling and giggling. "Alright fine, but I'll have to prank Steven or something to get him to pay attention to something else" Amethyst sighed in defeat.

"I still can't believe you were into gymnastics" Steven teased, walking with Spinel in the parking lot. "Yea yea I know, I used to enjoy doing gymnastics at the time. But I've kinda out grown it" Spinel shrugged, her hand intertwined with Stevens hand. "Haven't you wanted to do anything new since then?" Steven asked, stopping by his car. "Eh not really, besides you, nothing that I haven't wanted to punch yet" Spinel joked, soon letting go of Stevens hand. Steven watched her walk back to her motorcycle and it's as if a lightbulb went off in his head. "I got it, Spinel grab a pair of shorts and a tank top and meet me at my house!" Steven stated enthusiastically before getting in his car and driving home. Spinel raised an eyebrow as she watched her boyfriend drive off before chuckling softly to herself, then she got on her motorcycle and drove back to her house. "Oh there you are, are you going to see Steven again?" Pink Pearl asked, looking up from her book. "Yea, Steven told me to meet him at his house with a pair of shorts and a tank top. I don't know what for but I guess he has something planned" Spinel chuckled before heading to her room to grab the clothes and put them in a small bag. "Hey Spinel, can we talk?" Pink Pearl asked, standing in Spinel's bedroom doorframe. "Sure, what's up?" Spinel asked, her hand wrapped around one of the bags straps. "Well you've been spending a lot of time with Steven, like a lot of time, and I'm afraid that......well.....that you to have become to dependent on each other" Pink Pearl explained her concern, rubbing her arm a little. Spinel cocked her head in confusion as she looked at her pink haired friend, "I don't understand, I don't think we've become to dependent on each other" she simply stated. "Well.....we haven't hung out in a while, like a long while, and you can't go five minutes without mentioning something about Steven that everyone already knows...." Pink Pearl simply stated, looking at her friend with concern. Spinel sighed and frowned from her friends statement, "if you want to hang out with me more, then just say so. Honestly I think Amethyst was saying the same thing earlier, I care for Steven deeply, but I'll talk with Steven and see what he thinks ok?" Pink Pearl smiled softly in content "thank you Spinel, I do want you to have fun with Steven with whatever he has planned" she replied before giving Spinel a hug. Spinel smiled softly as she returned the hug, after saying her goodbyes, she was on her way to Stevens house.

"Oh good, did you grab the shorts and tank top?" Steven asked as soon as he saw Spinel. "Uh yeah, mind telling me why?" Spinel asked as she got into Stevens car when he entered the drivers side. "Well you said that you didn't find anything interesting to do without punching it, sooooo I think I know something that might interest you for it to become a hobby" Steven smiled as he drove, one of his hands holding Spinel's hand. "Which is?" Spinel asked, her eyebrow raised from curiosity. Steven then grinned widely as he answered with one word, "boxing" was what came out of his mouth. This made Spinel laugh a little "god damn it you're so adorable, so we're heading to the gym?" She asked gently. Steven blushed a bit from her laughter "yea, well I thought that it would be a good hobby for you. Unfortunately I know that the boxing ring is being repaired so we'll have to start small, like a punching bag" he smiled softly. Spinel chuckled at Steven, even though they've been dating for a month, she still can get over how thoughtful and sweet her boyfriend is. Soon the car parked into the Gyms parking lot, which made the couple get out of the car, "I have a membership to this gym and visit here every now and then, and I'm allowed to bring a guest so we should be good" Steven explained as he grabbed his bag from the backseat. Spinel walked with Steven into the gym while carrying her bag. The gym was simple but large, treadmills lined up by a wall with a few TVs, weight lifting benches, a few punching bags that were being unused, locker rooms for both men and woman, and what looked like a stage in the corner that was under construction. Steven showed his membership badge to the lady that was manning the front desk, and walked with Spinel to the locker rooms. "Go ahead and change, I'll.meet you out here when I'm done" Steven simply stated before going into the male's locker room. Spinel sighed a little before going into the females locker room, where she began to change into a short black tank top with a pink skull on the front, short dark pink exercise shorts, then taking out her two ponytails before putting her fuchsia hair up into one whole ponytail, and then putting on her fingerless gloves. Spinel came out of the female locker room and patiently waited for Steven to come out of the male locker room. When Steven did come out of the locker room, he was wearing a sweatband on his forehead, a white exercise shirt, and basketball shorts on. Spinel giggled a little when she saw the male's attire, "you dork, you look so cute~" she grinned before kissing his cheek. Steven blushed a bit from her display of affection, and from what Spinel was wearing, "and you look beautiful~" he smirked, which made the female blush. "I'm going to be on the treadmills ok? Have a go at the punching bags" Steven stated before kissing Spinel's cheek, then walking over to the treadmills. Spinel eyed the male on the treadmill before glancing at one of the punching bags, she walked over to the punching bag and got into a bit of a fighting stance before giving a few punches. 

After a few minutes, Spinel could feel the anger leaving her body as she continued to take it out on the punching bag. However this made her punches increase in strength and speed as she slowly zoned out everything else around her. Soon she saw a flash of Penelope's face on the punching bag, which made the girl extremely pissed off and punch the punching bag so hard that it tore. Spinel panted as she soon came back to her senses, and saw what she did, and honestly she felt a lot better. "Nice punching~" a male voice was heard from behind Spinel, which prompted the female to turn around. The male had puffy well kept hair, a slim figure, and a shit eating grin. "I'm Kevin~" the male spoke, "and who are you?~" he asked. "Spinel, now if you'll leave me alone I want to get back to my workout" she huffed as she started to turn back to face the punching bag. "Aw c'mon baby, I'm just trying to make conversation~" Kevin smirked as he stepped closer to the female. "And I didn't ask you to" Spinel hissed as she turned back to face the male. "Don't be like that baby, I can be great fun~" Kevin continued to smirk as he stepped closer, which made Spinel step back and her back hit the pillar that was holding up the punching bag. "So, can I steal a kiss from you?~" Kevin continued to speak before he started leaning in. Spinel was beyond annoyed and pissed at this moment and went to punch Kevin in the gut, which failed when the male caught her wrist before the punch connected with his stomach. "Mmm I like it when a girl is feisty~" Kevin grinned a she continued to keep his grip on Spinel's wrist. Spinel wasn't expecting her defense to fail like that, and was starting to become nervous as this situation started to spiral out of her control as she struggled to release her wrist from Kevin's fist. All of a sudden, Kevin was pulled backwards when someone gripped the back of his shirt and roughly shoved away from Spinel. Spinel's eyes widen when she saw that it was Steven that had pulled the asshole away from her, and she saw that Steven was very angry. "Ugh Steven, leave us alone will ya?" Kevin groaned, rubbing his neck where the collar of his shirt was pressed into. "Don't you dare touch my girlfriend...." Steven growled, going into protective mode due to the fact that Spinel was in trouble. Spinel had never seen Steven so angry before, nor did she see him be so protective of anyone before, it made her heart jumped seeing Steven being very protective of her. Steven stood in between Spinel and Kevin, looking like he was ready to throw down if it came to that. Kevin rolled his eyes "step aside Steven, I'm in no mood to deal with you" Kevin huffed, getting into a defensive stance. "One last time, leave my girlfriend alone" Steven stated simply, but sternly. "Make me~" Kevin gave his shit eating grin before giving Steven a shove. That set Steven over the edge as he then gave Kevin a well deserved punch into the jaw, knocking the male back onto his butt. Kevin winced as he rubbed his jaw, quickly submitting defeat to the seventeen years old. Damn, that was hot....Was what Spinel thought as she saw Steven's fist collide with Kevin's jaw, which made her hug Steven from behind. "Are you ok Spinel?" Steven asked gently, turning to face his girlfriend before hugging her. "I'm good, thank you..." Spinel replied softly, returning the hug "we should probably go before we get in trouble" she simply stated with a small chuckle after pulling away. "Yea, let's just grab our bags and go" Steven replied before quickly rushing to the male locker room. Spinel did the same, but before she did, she gave Kevin a well deserved kick to the shin before heading to the female locker room. After the two left the locker rooms, Kevin was already gone, in which triggered the couple to sigh in relief before fully leaving the gym.


	35. chp 35 (comfort with revealment)

Spinel was resting in Stevens car, her eyes closed as she leaned the back of her head against the seat's head rest. Steven was still inside the gym, talking to the front desk lady about what Kevin had attempted to do, which resulted in Kevin being banished from the gym entirely. Spinel's mind was still racing and her heart was still pounding in her chest from earlier, she felt so helpless and vulnerable when Kevin grabbed her wrist. Out of her control, her mind slowly disconnected from reality as the memory of what happened to her started to set in place. That day when she felt helpless as the bullies humiliated her, that day when she saw her best friend abandoned her, that day when she felt completely alone. Spinel gripped the fabric of her shorts tightly, trying her best to focus on what's happening right now instead of slowly slipping back into the past. However, this proved to be fallow since she began to see that the surroundings around her flashed from the inside of the car to the large opened area that was the inside entrance of her old middle school. Spinel began to breath heavily, her heart continued to pound harder in her chest as she began to hear the horrid laughter's of her past tormentors. One of Spinel's hands began to travel up to her head and gripped her fuchsia hair tightly as her panic attack worsened, slowly losing her grip on reality even more. "Ok Spinel, Kevin shouldn't be a problem anymore and-Spinel?" Steven started to speak as he slid into his driver's seat, but quickly noticed that something wasn't right. Steven noticed that the color from Spinel's face had drained, that she was gripping both her hair and shorts tightly, panting heavily, and possibly sweating a little. "Spinel?" Steven asked, slowly reaching his hand to her, only to have her shrink away from it. Steven felt a bit discouraged from her reaction, but it soon clicked in his mind that Spinel was having some sort of PTSD attack. "Spinel it's me Steven...." Steven spoke softly, hoping to catch her attention.."S-Steven?...." Spinel whimpered, tears started to flow down her face. "Do you know who I am?" Steven asked, trying to keep calm as he kept his eyes on her. "M-My...." Spinel tried to speak, failing to answer his question for a minute, "My B-Boyfriend..." She whispered softly. Steven seized this opportunity to slowly snake his hands to Spinel's face, cupping her cheeks so she could look into his brown eyes. Spinel tried to resist his warm hands, but soon started to remember the comfort that came with his reassurance. "Spinel, where are you right now?..." Steven asked gently, using his thumbs to wipe away the mascara stained tears that trailed down her cheeks. "I'm at scho- no....I'm....I'm in a car, Stevens car...." Spinel answered softly, cupping his hands with her hands as her brain began to set back into the present time. "What were we going to do today?" Steven asked again, being patient and knowing that he shouldn't rush this type of process. "I-I....we were going to w-watch a m-movie and cuddle...." Spinel sniffed, which made her realize that Steven was holding her face and then her pink colored eyes slowly focused on to his brown eyes. "S-Steven, I'm s-so sorry...." She began to sob, slowly leaning into Stevens chest as he hugged her head to him. Spinel could hear Stevens heartbeat, which seemed to calm her down enough to explain what had just happened. "I sometimes lose track of reality when it's triggered and.....I go back to my worse memory which you already know what that memory is...." She explained softly, clutching to his tank top. "Spinel don't be sorry, I'm so sorry you had to go through that....I wanted today to be a great experience for you but instead it was ruined because I left you alone....." Steven began to apologize as he hugged Spinel tighter, thinking that it was his fault for what had happened. "No no, none of us could have predicted what happened, please don't blame yourself, honestly Kevin deserved that punch you gave him" Spinel chuckled, remembering how hot Steven looked when he stood his ground, and she loved it when Steven became very protective over her. Steven chuckled in response, "honestly I've been wanting to do that since I was fourteen" he admitted, "do you want me to take you home?" He asked gently. Spinel stayed silent for a minute before answering, "I don't want to be alone right now..... honestly can I stay at your house tonight?...." She asked softly, looking up at the male she loved. "Of course, I love it when you spend the night~" Steven smiled before pulling away to put the car in drive, he continued to hold her hand as they drove back to his house. 

Steven continued to hold Spinel's hand as they left the car parked and turned off in the driveway. "Is there anything I can get you?" Steven asked gently as he gave her hand a squeeze. Spinel sighed from mental exhaustion, and honestly she just wanted to cuddle with Steven and watch a cheesy movie. "I just want you Steven, I want to cuddle you" she answered, squeezing his hand tightly. "Ok well let's go inside and we can watch a movie in my room" Steven smiled as he opened the door and walked inside with Spinel in tow. "Steven please come into the kitchen!" Pearl called to the male as soon as he stepped inside. Why is Pearl home early? Steven questioned, usually she doesn't get home till much later. Spinel walked with Steven into the kitchen, seeing Pearl clutching a mug with steaming tea inside. "Steven, your aunt's are here and they have someone they want to introduce you to. Bare in mind that I wasn't expecting this and it involves what your mother did before meeting Greg." Pearl quickly explained before Steven was even able to put ask questions. "What do you mean? What did mom do exactly?" Steven finally asked, Spinel stood behind the male as she continued to hold his hand, she was just as curious as Steven was. All Steven knew was that his mother ran away from her family at a young age, changed her name so no one could find her easily, and fell in love with Greg which resulted in Steven being brought into the world. "Your aunt's are waiting in the living room, please go see them....." Pearl spoke softly, honestly she seemed a bit shell shocked as she sipped her tea. Steven glanced back at Spinel with a raised eyebrow, both of them confused and curious as to what his aunt's wanted to talk about, or show him. "I'll come with you Steven, it's alright..." Spinel spoke softly, hugging his arm a bit to comfort the male. Steven nodded and with the help of his girlfriends support, he found the courage to walk to the living room. Steven stopped in his tracks as his eyes focused on what was in front of him, White standing behind the couch, Blue and Yellow sitting on the end of the couch, talking with a familiar face in the middle. Pink poofy curly hair, jean jacket over a pink Lion shirt, made him remember who exactly this person was. "P-Penelope??" Steven squeaked out, absolutely shocked and confused as to why she was there, but also worried for Spinel as he felt her grip tighten even more on his arm. "Hey Steven...." Penelope spoke softly, giving a little awkward wave. "Guys, what's going on?" Steven asked, looking at all four of them. "Well Steven, you know how your mother ran away from us...." Blue began to speak. "But we never told you why she did so....." Yellow continued, in which White joined in by finishing with her following words "and we thought it was for a reason in which you were involved in, but we were wrong...." She finished. Steven shook his head "I don't understand..." He answered softly, still looking at Penelope. Blue sighed in defeat "your mother ran away from us because she became pregnant at eighteen years old, in which our mother shunned her for. So much so that it stressed her out so much in which she ran away from home, and gave birth to a child. Now we thought this whole time that we thought that child was you but.....we couldn't be more wrong...." Blue's words trailed off, in which prompted Yellow to continue the story. "After she gave birth to the child, she gave it up for adoption in the hopes the baby would have a better family. She then changed her name and met Greg 3 years later, where you were born." She finished, crossing her arms while sighing. Spinel and Steven listened with widen eyes, he clutched onto an end table tightly as he tried not to pass out from shock. Steven started to see the similarities between him and Penelope, poofy curly hair, kind brown eyes, and sweetened smile. "S-So.... Penelope is my?..." His words trailed off as he gulped heavily. "I'm your.....older sister by three years...." Penelope answered softly, not looking at the male that is her half brother.


	36. chp 36 (backstory)

Steven felt like water was rushing in his ears, he continued to grip on the end table in an attempt to keep himself from fainting. All of this information was to much for him, after all these years, why didn't his mother keep Penelope? After all, she kept Steven and was ready to be a mother to him until she suddenly died, but why not to Penelope? He didn't understand it at all, and Steven started to mentally ask himself if his own father knew, although it was more likely that Greg didn't know. "What.....the FUCK?!?!" Spinels voice cut through the thick air, which snapped Stevens train of thought back onto it's tracks. Stevens aunt's, and Penelope's eyes dart to Spinel, shocked at the female's sudden foul language, even Steven seemed a bit shocked at Spinels words. "I don't understand it, after all this time, you show up and announce this BULLSHIT to Steven when his life is just fine!" Spinel seemed to become more angry, her eyes almost maniacal as her mood worsened. Steven knew he had to defuse this situation and quickly, he grabbed both her hands and tried to get his face into her line of sight. "Spinel, look at me, look at me, it's ok. I know you're upset, and I'm still processing everything. I think we just need to sit down and hear how she found out. Does that sound like a good idea?" Steven asked Spinel softly, which promptly made his girlfriend calm down a bit even though she was still agitated. Steven then sat down in an armchair, with Spinel sitting on his lap for security reasons. Something clicked in Penelope's mind, that name sounded so familiar but she couldn't quite pinpoint it. Steven looked at his aunt's and sighed, "can we....have some privacy please?" Steven asked gently. "Yes yes, we need to go back to work, come along sisters" White stated as she left, her sisters in tow, which now left the three alone in the living room 

Penelope closed her eyes and sighed before looking at the couple, "I never knew I was adopted, not until recently anyways. My parents, the couple that raised and cared for me, will always be my parents. Well, that was until one night during my sophomore year.....there was an accident while I was home alone and....I miss them dearly. Then I was sent to foster care and I slowly regressed into a depressive and isolated mindset.i started to push away my caretakers, my friends and.....I soon drifted away from my best friend. She was always the sweetest girl, smiling even during bleak times and damn I feel awful everyday for abandoning her like I did.... It was selfish I know, selfish about what I did, how I felt during those months was selfish, but I deeply regret what I did. I just wish I could take it all back and fix what I did to everyone.... Sorry I sidetracked a bit. Anyways, a few years passed and I still wasn't aware of my adoption until about a month ago when I received a call from a man. Some guy I didn't know told me that he was my biological father, of course I believed that it was a prank call. I was planning to hang up but something in me prevented my actions. I listened to him and he explained how he was my father, how his parents made him cut contact with my-our mom and sent him to military school for his "sins" as they called it. He wanted to stay and support mom but in the end his wishes were ignored, and the last he heard from her was that she ran away from her family. For years father had been trying to track her down, but since she changed her name, it was nearly impossible. So after looking for years, he decided to look for me, and as you can tell it was a lot easier. So after talking for a while, we agreed to meet up at a coffee shop, and when we saw each other, be bursted into tears while hugging each other. Dad didn't have much longer to live due to his disease, but he agreed to help me find answers to both of our questions. Surprisingly, this only took a couple months, which led me to finding my adoption papers, then my birth certificate, which led me to your- our aunt's....I was so happy to find them. I live with Dad for now in an apartment here in Beach City. I didn't find our aunt's until yesterday, and I didn't come to Beach City until a month ago, which was when I met you...." Penelope finished her story, now looking intently at Steven. 

Steven hadn't spoken a word for the past half hour that Penelope spoke, and he was about to open his mouth until he noticed that Spinel was shaking in his lap. Spinel had her teeth gritted, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white, rage shook her body, her pink colored eyes held a look that could kill a human being. Steven realized that she was about to snap and wrapped his arms around her waist, just in time for him to hold back his girlfriend before she attempted to lunge at his half sister. "YOU BITCH, AFTER ALL THIS TIME YOU SHOW UP EXPECTING TO BE INCLUDED IN STEVENS FAMILY, HIS LIFE AND MY LIFE AFTER TELLING YOUR DAMNED SOB STORY. AFTER EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE TO ME, DO YOU EXPECT FORGIVENESS FOR YOUR SELFISHNESS?!?!" Spinel screamed in anger, finally snapping from years of pent up rage and insecurity, "WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME LIKE THAT?! YOU LEFT ME BEHIND JUST BECAUSE OF HOW YOU FELT, WHAT ABOUT WHAT I FELT?!?!". Penelope recoiled from fear, actually scratch that, she is scared to death from the crazed female. "I-I'm sorry, but....do I know you? There's something about you that I find familiar..." Penelope stated, hoping Steven could keep his strength on the female. "FAMILIAR?! OH SO YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE THE ONE PERSON THAT COULD MAKE YOU LAUGH? YOUR BEST FRIEND!" Spinel continued to scream, imitating a younger voice version of herself during that last part. Penelope's face froze as the color drained from her face, "S-Spinel? Is that you? I can't believe it...." Her voice shaky as she recognized her former best friend. Spinel soon stopped struggling, and then she started giggling maniacally "yeah it's me, the broken toy that you threw away. The girl that happily watched you drift away. The girl that thought everything was good in the world...." Her voice trailed off as mascara dyed tears streamed down her cheeks. Penelope stared in shock, "I-I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you like I did....I don't expect forgiveness, and I know you won't ever expect me to be your friend. Actually wait, I know I can't be your friend, I hurt you to badly and I was a horrible person for abandoning you like that. I just wanted to start over but I didn't even consider your feelings.....I can't be your friend at all, but I want to be included in Stevens life, I just want to be in a family again..." She apologized, her tone of voice actually showed regret and sorrow. Steven glanced at the two females before sighing, "Penelope you're more than welcome to visit me anytime. Spinel, I know you're super angry right now, angry about what Penelope did, but she's still my sister and I'm willing to give her a chance." He spoke softly, which earned a shocked look from both his girlfriend, and his half sister. "I.....I won't like her being around us, but if that's what you want to do then I support your decision...." Spinel grumbled, calming down a bit as her anger subsided. Soon the pair were being tightly hugged by a happily grinning Penelope, in which only Steven returned the hug while Spinel couldn't help but feel disgusted. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Penelope squealed out of excitement and joy, "oh! I have to go tell my father the good news, I'll see you later Steven!" The excited female exclaimed before rushing out of the living room, followed by a "bye guys!" before she left the house completely.


	37. Chp 37 (snapping)

Even though it's been a few weeks since Penelope came into Stevens life and became a part of his family, Spinel was still reluctant on having her former best friend around. Yes she is glad that Steven has another person to be in the family, but there will always be a bit of resentment towards his half sibling. Now this wouldn't be much of an issue to the pink haired female, but lately she's been noticing that Steven has been spending more and more time with Penelope, and of course, Spinel couldn't help but feel jealous. Not only that, but she also noticed how Penelope was involved in Steven and Spinels activities, and most of the time it was because Steven had invited Penelope along. Now Spinel didn't mind it at first, she understood that Steven wanted to involve Penelope in his life, but now it was just becoming even more annoying, and now it was rare for Steven and Spinel to be alone together. Spinel held her tongue and hadn't mentioned anything, but it was becoming tougher to do so, especially when Steven would promise that it'd be a him and her day. Now it would start out like that, but then it would get interrupted early on by someone else joining them, and sometimes it'd be Penelope that'll join the two. Spinel always stayed quiet, honestly she wanted Steven to be happy, but it was starting to become aggravating. Spinel was deep in thought until Steven spoke up, "hey guys I'm gonna go get us some Churros" he stated simply before standing up and going to a Churros vendor, which was a little bits away from the park bench they were sitting at. Spinel watched him walk away before giving a huff, in which Penelope had noticed. "Spinel, is something on your mind? Besides Steven I mean" Penelope joked awkwardly, trying to lighten the mood. "A lot of things are on my mind, and right now I'd like to keep it at that..." Spinel grumbled, her chin resting in the palm of her hand as she looked away from Penelope. Penelope sighed a little before standing up, "Spinel, I know you're still resenting me because I abandoned you to the hands of the bullies, and I am very sorry. But I'm trying to make up for what I did, I'm trying to be a part of Stevens life, and also a part of your life since you're an important factor of his life. I know you haven't forgiven me, and I don't expect you to forgive me, but it would help if you told me exactly what's on your mind..." Penelope explained softly, her eyes soft but stern. "You wanted to know what's on my mind?..." Spinel huffed before standing up and facing the female with a pissed off expression. Penelope seemed intimidated but other then that, she kept her stance before crossing her arms, "I thought I was pretty clear about that" she replied. One second, Penelope was standing tall, and the next, she was sprawled across the pavement while holding her mouth. "That's exactly what's on my mind, ever since the day you left me to my own devices. I've been wanting to punch you so badly when you left, and I still have!" Spinel snapped, her knuckle sore from punching Penelope so hard. "Spinel! What're you doing?!" Steven asked while shouting, running to help Penelope up off of the ground. "Expressing how I've felt for the past few years, and for the past few weeks I've been increasingly getting more pissed off!" Spinel spat angrily. "What're you talking about?!" Steven asked, becoming even more angrier then he already was. Suddenly Penelope spat something out from her mouth, which revealed to be a tooth that was mixed with blood splatter, "oh God she knocked a tooth out...." She whimpered while still holding her mouth.

"WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT?! I'M TALKING ABOUT US STEVEN UNIVERSE! I'M TALKING ABOUT HOW FOE THE PAST FEW WEEKS, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY ALONE TIME TOGETHER, AND EVERYTIME WE DO START TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER, SOMEONE ALWAYS COMES ALONG AND ASKS TO JOIN, IN WHICH YOU SAY YES WITHOUT CONSULTING ME. I DON'T MIND IF THAT HAPPENS EVERY NOW AND THEN, BUT GOD DAMN IT YOU SAY YES EVERY TIME! IS IT TO MUCH TO ASK FOR ALONE TIME WITH YOU EVERY NOW AND THEN? I'M GLAD THAT YOU HAVE A NEW FAMILY MEMBER THAT YOU CAN BOND WITH, BUT I'VE BEEN BITING MY TONGUE AND LETTING YOU SAY YES JUST SO YOU COULD BE HAPPY DAMN IT!" Spinel screamed at the two, her feelings rushing out of her body as she shouted. Steven stared at the screaming Spinel in shock, his half sister was propped up against himself, also shocked. Tears were streaming down Spinels face, angry and hurt tears that were stained with her makeup. "Spinel, why didn't you say anything earlier?" Steven asked gently, walking towards his girlfriend slowly. "Because I w-wanted you to be happy and I-I put aside me f-feelings because I c-care about you...." Spinel explained, her voice shaky as she began to feel her anxiety ride to high levels. "Spinel I'm glad you're thinking about my feelings, but you should also think about how you're feeling as well. We promised to be honest with each other about our feelings and thoughts, and punching Penelope was way out of line with expressing how you feel...." The male explained, and Spinel could see the disappointment in his eyes, which made her feel even worse. Spinel glanced up at the injured Penelope, blood trickling out of her mouth while she continued to hold her jaw. "I-I'm sorry.....I'm so so sorry.....oh god what did I fucking do?...." Spinel began to shake from fear, fear of Steven being upset with her so much that he'd hate her, her anxiety reaching her peak as she began to tune out everything around her. 

Steven noticed that she was on the verge of having a type of panic attack, he slowly reached his hand out to gently grabbed her shoulder, only to have her step back a bit. "Spinel?..." he called her name softly, only to have the female look up her with tears in her eyes. Spinel then shut her eyes and shook her head before turning around and running away, leaving behind a surprised male and a shocked Penelope. "Spinel wait!" Steven shouted while running after his girlfriend, Penelope didn't immediately follow after him since she was still in pain, but after a little bit she also ran after the two. Tears continued to stream down Spinels face as she ran, her memory shot back to the day when she first ran from Steven, the rainy day after she attempted to punch Steven out of anger, only to have to run from Stevens words. As she ran, she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, not did she notice the incoming car until headlights shined right onto her face. Spinel froze in place, well that was until a pair of hands shoved her from behind, out of the pathway of the oncoming vehicle. Time slowed down when Spinel heard the screeching of the brakes, followed by sounds of various meaty and metallic thuds. Spinel was obviously shaking from almost being hit by a car, but the sound of someone screaming snapped her out of her daze. Time slowed down as she looked to see a terrified Penelope, her pink colored eyes followed to where the half sister was looking at, only to lock onto an injured and unconscious Steven. His body was sprawled against the tarmac, his right leg bent at an unnatural angle as blood poured from the back of his head, and his clothing torn from the impact of the car. The driver of the car was already calling 911, and Penelope was already rushing over to see if there was something she could do to help stop the bleeding. Spinel continued to watch all of this out of shock, well, that was until she threw up from the sight while shaking while the sound of sirens was heard in the distance.


	38. Chp 38 (road to recovery)

Spinels knee was bouncing up and down as she sat on a chair in the waiting room, her anxiety and stress was at an all time high, and she felt like she could barely breathe at all. Her body shook as her mind replayed the event that took place only an hour and a half ago, she remembered how Stevens body was all twisted and bloody, her breathing was extremely shaky as she continued to sit. Honestly, all Spinels wanted to do was to hold Steven in her arms and apologize to him over and over again for running away like she did. Now she knew that it was a complete accident, but she felt like if she hadn't run from Steven, then he wouldn't have been hit by that car. Spinels body tensed when she felt a hand settle on her shoulder, she looked up to see a sadly smiling Amethyst. "Hey Spins, how're you holding up?" The purple haired female asked as she sat next to Spinel, "want some coffee?" She asked while handing the shaking female a cup of the bitter liquid. Spinel shook her head, which made Amethyst shrug in response. "I'm already shaking enough as it is, I'm so worried...." Spinel replied, her knee still bouncing. "I know how you feel right now Spinel, but Steven is strong and he'll pull through, he's a warrior and we both know it" Amethyst reassured, she then took a sip of the coffee she had in her hand. "I-I know but, I'm still worried.....there was just....so much.....blood...." Spinel spoke slowly, feeling like she was about to throw up again from the memory of the gory sight. "Hey now, just breath in and out, it's ok" Amethyst began to reassure Spinel, she then began to bring the female in for a hug, in which the pink haired female accepted. "Did you call Pearl? or Garnet? Or Greg?" Spinel asked while taking in a deep breath, she then pulled out of Amethyst's arms. Amethyst gave a small sigh of exhaustion, "Greg is on his way, I left Garnet a message, and before that I had Pearl screeching through the phone for ten minutes before I told her I had to call Greg and Garnet. Honestly, I think my ears are still ringing from that call" Amethyst joked, which earned a small little "heh" from Spinel. Soon a large figure rushed towards the pair, and both them recognized the figure as Greg wearing his cherry printed sweater, "ah geez, I don't think I've ran that fast from a parking lot my entire life, how's my son doing?....." He panted a little while stretching his back. "The doc hasn't come out yet" Amethyst answered before taking another sip of her coffee. "What exactly happened anyways?!?!" Greg asked, panting softly as he sat next to Spinel. "I....became angry earlier and ran from Steven, he chased after me and I crossed the road as a car came zooming by and.....he pushed me out of the way......" Spinel explained softly, gripping the edge of her skirt tightly while looking down at her clothing, and she noticed that her skirt was stained a bit with blood, in which she knew that the red and sticky liquid didn't belong to her. 

Soon a doctor approached the trio, her dark skin wrinkled a little and she had faded bags under her eyes. "Hello Greg, I'm Stevens doctor tonight, poor thing...." The female spoke, rubbing her right eye a little which pushed her glasses up a bit. "Hey Priyanka, give it to me straight please...." Greg sighed, mentally exhausted and a bit physically as well. "He's in his own room for now, we had to sew a laceration closed on his head, his right leg is broken along with a couple ribs, he'll have a scarring go down his face and .....it seems he'll be unconscious for an undetermined amount of time. He's in a coma like state, although his chances of waking up are greater than others.....I'm really sorry Greg...." Priyanka explained softly, her face held sorrow and sadness. "Thanks....does Connie know yet?..." Greg asked, concerned for both his son and for his first friend and how she'll react. "No not yet, I was about to call her and give the news about Steven, I can imagine her running the few miles to the hospital just to see him. Speaking of which, Steven is allowed one visitor at a time" she explained, "I have other patients to attend to so excuse me..." She finished before walking off in a different direction. "I'll go first gals..." Greg sighed, he stood up and slowly walked in the direction to where Steven was roomed at. About a half hour passed before Greg came back out, his eyes a bit red and puffy, in which both Amethyst and Spinel noticed. "Who's next?" Greg asked as he sat back down in between the females, Amethyst glanced at Spinel, in which the fuchsia hair colored female shook her head, "N-No not yet, Amethyst you go see him....I'm not ready yet...." She explained softly. "Well I'll see you two in a bit" Amethyst replied before giving the Greg and Spinel the finger guns, she then left the two to go visit Steven in his room. Amethyst was only in there for twenty minutes this time before coming back out, looking a bit exhausted. "I....I couldn't stand seeing him like that....Spinel it's your turn...." Amethyst spoke softly before sitting back down, glancing away from the two. Spinel gulped before sighing in defeat, she then stood up and slowly before making her way to the injured Steven.

Spinel stood in front of the door, the door that connected to Stevens room, her hand shaking as it gripped the doorknob. She took a deep breath before opening the door slowly, and her pink colored eyes had settled on the unconscious Steven. The beeping of the heart machine was audible in the quiet room, her body shook as she approached the bedside, her eyes studied the still body of the male. Stevens face seemed almost peaceful despite the fact that he had a bandage tapped on his face, his right leg was elevated with a cast attached, his left arm was wrapped in a bandage as well as part of his head being shaved and wrapped with another bandage, this sight immediately made Spinel tear up. She sat in a chair that was next to him and grabbed his hand gently, her mascara stained tears fell down her face as she looked at his unconscious face, "I'm so sorry.....I'm so so sorry Steven.....I know you'd say that it wasn't my fault and that it was an accident but....I still feel bad, I feel bad for running and I feel bad for punching Penelope like that.....but I feel awful for not speaking up about how I've been feeling for the past couple weeks, if I had then none of this wouldn't. I don't know if you can hear me but.....there's been something I've been wanting to tell you for a while dollface, and.....well....I....I love you....you're the best thing that's happened in my life, and I can't imagine a future without you there with me, side by side, hand in hand, through good times and bad.....and I'm so fucking grateful that you care for me so much and make me so happy, and I want to make you happy so.....when you wake up I want to make up for every little thing that I've done that's made you frown.....heh.....it's funny, I can imagine you making sure I don't do any of that shit and just reassure me that everything is ok...." Spinel whispered softly and slowly, giving his hand a little squeeze every now and then as she spoke.


	39. Chp 39 (progress)

week went by and it seemed like Steven's body we as healing on its own as he was still unconscious. Spinel visited him everyday after school, and was with him all day, everyday, during the weekend. Sometimes she'd just watch him for a bit while holding his hand, sometimes she'd read to him, or tell him about her day, sometimes she'd do her assignments when nothing else was going on, but she kept on hoping that Steven would wake up soon. However that wasn't the case, and Everytime when she had to leave, her disappointment rose higher and higher. The next time she visited Steven, her eyes were red and puffy from crying earlier that day, and when she entered the room, she saw a familiar figure that was sitting next to the unconscious male. "Oh, hey Spinel, I didn't realize that you were visiting today" Penelope stated, her attention turned from the sleeping Steven and towards Spinel. Spinels posture recoiled a little, she then looked away for she still felt awful for punching Penelope out of anger. "Hey it's ok, come sit next to me" Penelope stated, she then patted the second chair next to her. Spinel glanced over at the half sibling hesitantly before shuffling her way over to the chair, she then plopped onto the seat while still glancing away from her. "Hey Spinel, it's ok, I know you're still upset about what happened, but I can understand that you were angry" Penelope explained, which surprised Spinel since she turned her head quickly to look at Stevens half-sister. "You do?..." Spinel asked, well, it came out more like a whisper. "Yeah, I mean.....you have every right to be angry at me, and I have been spending a lot of time with Steven, even during your guys alone time. I didn't realize how bad it was effecting you, and to be honest, I had that sucker punch coming..." Penelope joked at the end, but winced as she held her semi swelled cheek. Spinel noticed this and frowned more than she already was, "thank you for forgiving me, and to be honest, I wasn't really expecting to knock your tooth out like I did. Then again I guess all of that boxing practice pays off" Spinel chuckled awkwardly, and was a little surprised that Penelope giggled along with the fuchsia hair colored female. "Steven mentioned how he introduced you to boxing, and that was before he gave a Kevin a good right hook to his chin" Penelope joked, which earned a small snicker from Spinel. "Yea, thank god, I still shudder every time I remember that shit eating grin of Kevin" Spinel replied, a light smile sat on her face for the first time in a week. "So did the dentist replace your tooth, or did they place your tooth back?" Spinel asked after about a minute of silence. "Oh, yea the dentist placed my tooth back into its spot, and the next day they cleaned and filled a cavity that I didn't know I had, so I'm still a bit sore" Penelope answered, attempting a smile before wincing again in pain. 

The half sibling then stood up, "I'm gonna get some water, do you want me to bring you a drink?" she asked, her brown eyes glancing at Spinel. "Yea, I'd like some water as well" she smiled as she answered, honestly Spinel felt like she had a bit of closure, but wished that Steven could witness this heart warming moment. After Penelope left, Spinel stood up and moved closer to the hospital bed, , she grabbed Steven's hand as usual, and ran her thumb over Stevens thumb. After a few seconds of silence, besides the heart monitor beeping, she let out a small sigh before sitting on the edge of the bed, her left side facing the unconscious brown haired male. Spinel studied the peaceful face of the sleeping male, she desperately wanted to see his brown colored eyes, she wanted to hear his sweet and cheerful voice, she wanted to feel his comfortable arms wrapped around her while they cuddle, she desperately missed everything about him. She sighed as she played with the end of one of her fuchsia colored ponytails, twirling a small lock with her index finger. Spinel looked down sadly before laying on the male, her head on Stevens chest, the slightly uncomfortable fabric of the hospital gown itched at her skin, but she ignored it as soon as she tuned into the males slow heartbeat. The thumping of his heart brought a small bit of relief to the female, she closed her eyes as she tuned out the heart monitors beeping, and only focused on the comforting sound of Stevens heart, and her head was raised and lowered every time that Steven breathed. Spinel was so tuned into the audible thumping that was happening inside Stevens chest that she didn't notice that the heart monitor's annoying beeping picked up it's pace, nor did she notice that the unconscious male's eyelids began to flutter. Steven flinched from the brightness of the rooms light, he blinked his brown colored eyes so he could adjust to the lighting. He then felt something somewhat heavy on his chest, which made him realize how sore his whole body felt, in which triggered an audible groan to escape past his lips. Spinel had her eyes shut right until she heard the groan, her head snapped up at the same time she looked at him, her pink colored orbs wide with shock and hope. "Ohh stars.... What happened?..." Steven grunted as he attempted to sit up, holding his head only to feel the bandage wrapped around his forehead. "STEVEN!" Spinel shouted in excitement before tackling the male by hugging him around his neck, she then peppered his face with loving smooches. Steven gave a grunt before giggling at the tickling sensation of Spinels kisses, "Sp-Spinel stop that tickles!" He laughed, but he couldn't help but hug the female back. "No way, I missed giving your face loving little pecks and now I'm catching you up on what you missed~" Spinel smirked before kissing her boyfriend on the lips. Steven was a bit surprised but quickly returned the kiss as he wrapped his arms around Spinel once again. They stayed in that position for a little bit before Steven had to pull away to breath, "what happened? I remember pushing you out of the way of the car.....did I get hit by it?" He asked as he rested his forehead against Spinels forehead. "Y-Yea, it was awful.....me and Penelope were so scared when we saw your body like that, I vomited at how unnaturally bent your leg was...." Spinel sighed, giving a small shudder from the horrific memory. Steven frowned and gave a small sigh, "I'm sorry I scared you, how long was I out?" He apologized before asking his question. "Uh.....about a week Steven...." Spinel answered, her pink colored eyes locking onto Stevens surprised brown eyes. Steven gulped at her response, "geez.... how's everyone else doing? How's Dad?" He asked, concerned about how his friends reacted from his accident. "Amethyst and Greg were there with me when you were admitted and have visited you everyday, and of course both were very worried. Lapis and Peridot were also worried but were only able to visit you a couple times, and the same goes for Jasper. Garnet and Pearl have been visiting you everyday when they can, and good GOD Pearl wouldn't stop shouting and screaming bout of fear that you'd die. The Diamonds were also scared but could only visit you once, and the same goes for Connie, which I understand. As for Penelope-" Spinel was almost done with her explanation, but two audible squealing could be heard from the doorway, which made the female turn around to see who it was. Both Amethyst and Penelope rushed to hug the conscious Steven, Penelope dropped the two bottles of water while Amethyst continued to clutch onto a "get well soon" balloon as the pair hugged Steven and Spinel. The couple didn't mind however, as they hugged the excited pair of females back with the same strength and emotion that the hug brought.


	40. Chp 40 (an amazing proposal)

As soon as Steven was released from the hospital, Spinel so far has kept her promise, and the male was starting to feel a bit spoiled. "Spinelllll you don't have to do this..." Steven whined, at the moment he was using his crutches to help get around the school, and at the moment his brown eyes scanned his girlfriend that was carrying his books while carrying the males backpack along with her own. "N-Nah toots I got this" Spinel stated, and even though she had a firm grip on the books, her hold was a bit wobbly as a couple books began to slip out of her arms. "Easy now girlie, I gotcha" Jasper said as she seemed to appear out of nowhere, grabbing the escaping books before they clattered to the linoleum floor. Both Steven and Spinel sighed in relief, "thanks Jasper, I probably bit off more than I could chew" the pink haired female mumbled, she then adjusted Stevens backpack that was attached to the front of her body. "C'mon, hand me Stevens backpack and go to your class. I'll take it from here" Jasper explained, her big hand reached for the strap of the males backpack and slipped it off Spinels body. Even though Spinel felt relieved to have all the weight lifted off her shoulders, literally, she was also a bit disappointed. "But I promised Steven I'd carry his things...." The female grumbled, her hands attempted to reach for Stevens backpack, but only for the muscular female to smirk and lift the backpack out of Spinels reach. "Spinel you've done so much for me already, but don't overwork yourself just for me. How about we meet up at the park later?" Steven suggested, he then hobbled over to his girlfriend and gave her a kiss on the forehead. As much as Spinel enjoyed her boyfriend's sign of affection, she wasn't so keen on leaving the injured Steven so easily, "Is that what you want?" She asked. "Of course, I missed going to the park with you. Are you alright with that?" Steven asked, he desperately wanted to hold her hands at the moment, he wanted to give her a hug, but he didn't want to fall over and hurt himself even more. "Yea I'm more than alright with that dollface~" Spinel giggled, she then reached her hand up to cup Stevens bandage cheek, her mind began to wonder if the cut on his face would leave a type of scar. The bell then interrupted the couple's little moment, a groan of irritation left Stevens mouth before he took a hobbly step back, before eyeing his girlfriend, "I'll see you later ok?" He smiled softly. "Yea, I'll see ya later~" Spinel smiled softly, she rubbed her arm gently as she lingered in her spot before rushing off to class. "Soooooo little man, do you still need my help with your plan?" Jasper asked, carrying Stevens backpack and books with ease while the male hobbled along quickly next to her. "Oh definitely, I just hope shell enjoy what I have in store...." Steven spoke nervously, which earned a quick, bellowing laugh from Jasper. "Don't worry, as much as she is attached to your side, I don't think shell refuse what you have to offer~" the tall, muscular female purred a bit, which made Steven blush a bit, but it also helped reassure him.

  
Spinel tapped her foot anxiously, she knew that Steven had a doctor's appointment after school and that was right at this spot on the bench. The female remembered that this was the same exact spot where Steven comforted her on that rainy day, her heart fluttered a bit when she remembered how Steven bandaged up her scratches, she immediately flushed from remembering her boyfriend's gentle touch. Spinel closed her eyes and leaned her head back to calm her nerves, it was becoming warmer lately, and she could feel the sun shining on her skin, which was really relaxing. The fuchsia haired female then heard CLANK, CLANK, CLANK coming in the distance, and that noise seemed to increase as it became closer. Spinel's pink colored eyes darted towards the direction of the sound, and she smiled when she saw Steven, but then frowned lightly when she saw Jasper with him. "I'm glad you're here Spinel" Steven smiled widely, he and Jasper coming to a complete stop in front of his confused girlfriend. "I'm glad you're here to, but what's Jasper doing here?" Spinel asked, a bit disappointed since she believed that she wasn't going to be alone with Steven for once since he'd been released from the hospital. "Well she's going to help me" Steven simply explained, his brown eyes glancing at Jasper, he then cleared his throat when the muscular female didn't exactly get the message. "Huh? Oh yeah!" Jasper sounded, she then knelt down to where she was on one knee. Then the female gently grabbed Steven in where he was kinda sitting on her arms like how he would on a throne, and this made Spinel raise her eyebrow as she questioned what in the fresh hell was happening. "Spinel you've been good to me for so long, and right now I want to make it up to you, and.....welllll I would've done this on my own, but I obviously needed help. I am going to get my cast off in a couple weeks, and I know what I'm going to ask you to isn't for a month away but...." Steven paused for a few brief seconds, his hand reached into his signature pink bomber jacket, then he extracted something from his pocket and held it out to his surprised girlfriend. Spinels eyes widened when she saw a plastic corsage, the fake flower had a dark pink hue on the surface, and it was attached to a black clip. "Will.... will you go to prom with me? I know it's not your type of thing but it'd mean a lot to me if you'd be my date..." Steven asked gently while holding out the corsage to his fuchsia hair colored girlfriend, the males words trailed off when he noticed Spinels facial expression. Spinel then made a noise that sounded like air escaping from her lips, which was followed by Spinel laughing loudly. "S-Steven you're to cute! Oh my God yes! Yes I'll go to prom with you!" The female continued to giggle before approaching the male, once she was close enough, Spinel cupped Stevens face before kissing him happily. Steven was keen on kissing his girlfriend back, however the moment didn't last long when Jasper spoke up, "guys I may be strong but my arms are getting tired. Wrap it up kiddos" she sighed, her muscular arms lowering a bit to prove her point. "Oh sorry " Steven apologized before grabbing the crutches he leaned against the Vitiligo female, and along with Spinel's help, he was able to stand back up on his uninjured leg with the aid of his crutches. Jasper gave a relieved sigh, her knee ached from kneeling for so long, and she stood up before stretching her body, her arms heading upwards while she stretched. Spinel at that moment was clutching the corsage, her heart was above the clouds due to excitement, love, and happiness, "thank you..... honestly I thought you were a little upset at me...." She spoke softly. Steven looked at Spinel with a raised eyebrow, "what would make you think I'd be upset with you?" The male asked gently, he took a little wobbly step closer to his girlfriend since he was concerned about the girls emotions. Spinel seemed to become quite shy, and she started to play with he left ponytail, "because, you seemed a bit upset, and I thought I did something wrong so...." Her words trialed off near the end as she pressed her ponytail to the side of her face. Steven didn't need Spinel to continue her sentence since he figured what she was going to say, "so you assumed I wanted space?" the male asked gently, his words confirmed what he thought when his brown eyes noticed that Spinel glanced away while blushing out of embarrassment. Spinel shouldn't have been surprised, Steven always seemed to know exactly what was going through her mind. "Spinel I could never be upset with you, yes we've both been through a lot together. But in the end, we come out on top together. All I want is for you to be happy and healthy, and as much as I love the idea of you taking care of me, you need to remember that you're just as important" Steven stated, his voice was comforting as the male spoke his reassuring words. Spinel gave a small chuckle before leaning her forehead against her boyfriend's forehead, "ya really are something else Universe~" she whispered before gifting the male with a quick kiss on his nose.


	41. Chp 41 (heck of a night)

The month had passed by quickly, like the snapping of fingers, or like a flash of lightning. Currently, Steven was running around the house like a madman, "where's my eyeliner?!?!" He asked frantically, basically tossing things from his drawer in his personal bathroom. "Dude chilllll out, I have some you can borrow if you can just relax" Amethyst stated before tying her long, purple hair up in a bun, a black sports jacket was worn over a simple white tank top with black dress pants to match. "Can you hand it to me please?" Steven asked as he struggled with tying his rose decaled tie around his neck, the lapel of his black button up shirt stood up so he could do what he needed to do. "Yeah man" Amethyst rolled her eyes before looking through her backpack, and she pulled out a thing of eyeliner before tossing it to the male, in which he caught it and unsheathed the tip before applying it to his eyelid carefully. "Remind me again why you needed makeup, specifically eyeliner" Amethyst asked before plopping onto Stevens bed. "I wanted to look pretty!" Steven exclaimed while he finished touching up his eyeliner, he then turned around to face Amethyst while smiling, his brown eyes popped out a bit due to the eye liner, but it suited him very well with his outfit. Amethyst only responded by giving a thumbs up, which made Steven roll his eyes as he attached the pink magnetic diamond piercing to his right ear, and then he tightened his tie once again before fixing the lapel on his shirt. "C'moooooon Ste-man we're gonna be late in picking up Pink Pearl and Spinel" Amethyst whined as the brown curly haired male struggled with putting on his matching dress shoes. "Ok let's go!" Steven exclaimed before he rushed down the stairs in an excited but hurried manner, while Amethyst leisurely followed after him all the way to the car. "Steven relax ok? I know you're excited, and nervous. But we don't need to get you into another accident" Amethyst stated, her body pressing into the passenger seat cushions hard as soon as Steven was driving eagerly down the road, her right hand gripping the fabric of the seat while her other hand was gripping the car doors handle, not the handle that opens the door but the handle that just seems to be there. "Sorry sorry.....it's just that.....Spinel told me that she'd wear a dress just this once and.... possibly have her hair down...." Steven explained once he slowed down to the proper speed limit, but he was still visibly excited and nervous, "it's our first dance together as a couple and I just want it to go well" he sighed softly. "Right.... So.....have you told her?" Amethyst asked, her gaze turning from looking outside to looking at her friend that was driving. Steven's brown eyes became slightly glossy, his face now looking dejected as the pair continued their trip to Spinel's and Pink pearls house, "not yet, it's been a week but tonight is not a good night" he stated simply after a couple of minutes of silence. "You're gonna have to tell her soon, not tonight of course, but soon dude. It's already May and we graduate at the end of June....." Amethyst simply stated, her eyes looking back out the window to view the passing scenery. "I know I know ok? For now let's just enjoy tonight with our friends, and loved ones" Steven simply sighed, honestly this school year passed by very quickly, and Steven hadn't even realized it until now, soon it'd be summer and everyone will be going on with their own lives. 

"Spinel you need to relax, Stevens gonna absolutely adore you" Pink Pearl stated, at the moment she was helping Spinel with curling her fuchsia hair. "I know but he's never seen me like this before, I'm just really nervous...." Spinel whimpered softly, she played with her hands before her friend finished up with the curling iron. "Oh look at you, so beautiful with your hair curled, ah I'm gonna cry" Pink Pearl smiled as she unplugged the curling iron, and just in time since the doorbell rang, indicating that Steven and Amethyst had arrived. "Oh that's them, I'll let the two in while you finish up your makeup" Pink Pearl explained as she placed the curling iron on it's proper handle, and then she left the room to go greet the duo. Spinel sighed and took a few deep breaths while clutching the edge of the bathrooms sink counter, "breath Spinel, breath" she repeatedly told herself to settle her nerves. Soon Spinel was calm enough to apply the last of her mascara to her eyelashes. "Oh look at you two. Spinel is almost ready if you want to wait here Steven, me and Amethyst can wait in the car" Pink Pearl stated while smiling sweetly, her dress was a simple white dress with a hue of pink in the fabric, and a big pink bow tied around the her waist where it rested on her left side. "Why do me and you have to wait in the car?" Amethyst asked, her arm being gently grabbed by Pink Pearls hand and she soon found herself being lead out to the car, and the only response she received from the sweet female was a wink. Steven watched the two head back outside, his back was facing the hallway as he stood in silence in the living room, occasionally shuffling his feet. "Steven?" Spinels voice called from the hallway, which prompted the well dressed Steven to turn around. "Oh Spine-" Stevens words were cut short when his brown eyes landed on his girlfriend, and what he saw made him blush on a whole new level. Instead of Spinels hair being tied up in their signature two messy ponytails, her pink hair was now hanging down past her shoulders in a curly manner, and instead of her usual punk/goth style of clothes, she was wearing a semi-short black dress that had dark pink ruffles embedded at the bottom, she was also wearing pink and black stripped stockings with her black combat boots to match. Spinel blushed for two reasons, because Steven was staring at her with star in his eyes, and because of how Steven was dressed up. Spinel couldn't stop staring as she admired her boyfriend's attire, the magnetic piercing complimented both his eyeliner, and the faded scar on his cheek from his accident more than a month ago. "W-Wow...." The pair spoke in sync, which made them both giggle before approaching each other. "You look Handsome~" Spinel smirked as she wrapped her arms around Stevens neck once he was close enough, her corsage was also pinned onto the front of her dress. "And you look amazing~" Steven smirked, his hands slowly cupping his girlfriends face so he could admire her beauty. His words, his smirk, how he looks, Spinel swore that she was about to turn into a messy puddle, even when Steven leaned in ever so slowly and locked his lips with hers into a loving yet passionate kiss. Spinel was eager to return his affectionate kiss, but was also disappointed for she knew they couldn't keep their friends waiting, "we need to go or we'll be late~" she stated after pulling away after a few seconds. "Awww alright~" Steven pouted playfully, which made Spinel smack his chest playfully while giggling. The couple then made their way out to the car, where their two friends were waiting, and soon the little group were on their way to prom. 

Steven was now standing by the punchbowl, his brown eyes scanned the large crowd as he took a sip from his cup. Amethyst was talking with Pink Pearl, and he couldn't quite tell if she was flirting with her or if Pink Pearl was just easy to fluster. Peridot and Lapis were dancing with each other, until Jasper intervened and basically kidnapped Peridot playfully by throwing her over her shoulder and running away, with Lapis Lazuli on her tail. Steven chuckled a bit, his teachers were chaperoning along with a couple other parents, and the male smiled once he saw that his half sister Penelope was also chaperoning this dance, in which the siblings happily waved to each other. Spinel soon returned back to Stevens side, wrapping her arms around his left arm, "I didn't keep you waiting did I?~" she smiled before pecking his cheek. "Nope, I was just watching everyone dancing and having fun" The male responded and as if on cue, a slow song came on, which made him smile and pull his girlfriend onto the dance floor. Steven then wrapped his right arm around Spinels waist, and his left hand grabbed Spinels right hand, in which the female rested her left hand onto Stevens shoulder. Soon the two began to dance in place to the slow, but romantic song that played, and the two were lost in the moment as they continued to dance with each other. Everything felt magical, like it was just the two of them in the world, no worries, no problems, just Steven and Spinel, and it felt like nothing could interrupt these two's moment. Well......at least until right when the song ended, and Spinel accidentally bumped into someone when Steven spun himself and her around. "Hey watch it!" A female voice shrieked, and Spinel was going to apologize, but was now annoyed. "Easy! I was gonna-" Spinel huffed when she turned around to see who exactly she bumped into, and as soon as she saw exactly who it was, she immediately freezed in her spot due to shock. The seem to be strangers face twisted into a shit eating grin, "well well well, when my boyfriend invited me to go to this lame prom of his, I wasn't expecting to find you here~" she giggled. Spinels shock wore off and anger soon set in, her shaky hands clenched into fists as she looked at the blonde stranger. "So do you remember who I am?" The female asked, a smirk settled on her face as she twirled one of her blonde locks in her fingers. Spinel continued to look at her, and then she began to giggle softly but maniacally at the question, "of course I do, don't make me laugh now. After all, how can I forget the first bitch I've knocked out from punching her in the nose?" She asked before resuming her glare at the blonde.


	42. Chp 42 (an interesting night)

"So you do remember me~" the blonde smirked, which made Spinel feel like she was going to throw up from the rage building inside her. "Spinel? Uh....who's this?" Steven asked, his head popping around from behind Spinels back, and he immediately shivered when he felt a pair of ice cold blue eyes staring at him. The blonde female smirked more as she eyed the male, "I'm Sarah, it seems like Spinnzie here has forgotten to mention little ol me~" Sarah chuckled, still twirling her blonde lock in-between her fingers." Spinels left pink eye twitched, she didn't think she'd have to hear that nickname again, she absolutely despised the nickname, "don't call me that.... what the fuck are you doing here anyways?" She asked. "Like I said, my boyfriend asked me to come here, saying that we'd be the only two beautiful people that can make this night...... interesting~" Sarah giggled, a shit eating grin was spread across her face, her arms crossed in front of her chest. Steven continued to watch all this unfold, his head now resting on Spinels shoulder, his brown eyes still studying the two girls as he asked himself who would be so shallow and narcissistic enough to date a girl like her?. The couple didn't have to wait long, as a familiar face appeared, and that smug looking grin on that persons face made Steven almost vomit from disgust. "Hey Baby, I see you've meet the local.... Shoddy folk" Kevin grimaced a bit, his eyes scanning both Stevens and Spinels clothing choice, his right arm wrapped around Sarah's waist. Steven's posture immediately straighten, "I should've known..." He grumbled, his hand sliding down Spinels arm and to her hand, her fingers becoming intertwined with his. "Even I thought you had better tastes than this Kevin, but then again I shouldn't be surprised..." Spinel hissed as she squeezed Stevens hand in order to keep herself in control of her emotions, which was becoming extremely difficult with each passing second. Kevin, disbelieved, opened his mouth to say, but he didn't even make a sound before his girlfriend spoke up while smirking, "But it seems like your expectations have greatly lowered~". By now, a small crowd had gathered around the two couples, but Spinel barely noticed since she was seeing red, sure she can take insults about herself, but when someone degrades someone she cares about, then that's when she knew that she'd possibly commit homicide tonight. However, Steven, in the past, was teaching himself about when to spot when Spinel may snap, and he could see the hatred flow through her pink colored eyes, "Spinel it's alright, let's just drop it and enjoy ourselves" he spoke softly as he gave her hand a comforting squeeze. Spinel glanced at her boyfriend, his brown eyes were filled with love, kindness, and reassurance, which comforted Spinel enough to let her anger subside a bit. "Yeah, yeah alright...." Spinel mumbled, and even though she felt safe when she was with Steven, she kept her guard up since the pair were still near some very unflattering people. However, both Steven and Spinel were only able to take a couple steps away from Sarah and Kevin before they heard Kevin's voice, "ugh, an ugly dress to fit an ugly bitch" he jokingly insulted, which earned a snicker from Sarah.

Now Spinel was just planning to keep on walking like Steven had said, however she stopped in her tracks when she felt Steven freeze on the spot. Her pink colored eyes studied his physical composure, his body stuff, face flushed a deep shade of red from shock, but a couple rare emotions had already developed in his brown colored eyes, which was anger and rage. Stevens hand slowly left Spinels hand, dropping in a sort of disbelieved manner before he slowly turned his body around, his brown eyes that are filled with a type of calming but unsettling hatred was now looking at Kevin and Sarah. With a smug looking grin spread across his face, Kevin watched Steven slowly approach him, and the crowd watched in anticipation as they watched Steven take heavy, intimidating steps towards Kevin. After the male was only a couple feet away from the smug looking male, he squinted his eyes slightly while cocking his head to the left, "what did you say?" He asked calmly. Kevin let loose a small chuckle, "I said "an ugly dress to fit an ugly bitch" now do I need to repeat myself again?" he replied, still smirking as he placed his right hand on his hip. Spinel watched in awe as she stared at Steven, his fists clenched and shaking with anger, she never saw him so enraged before except that time at the gym, feeling a sense of Deja Vu. "She's not ugly, nor is she a BITCH, so you better take that back..." Steven growled, developing a sneer on his face as he spoke since he was disgusted, disgusted at Kevin, and disgusted at himself for cursing. The mixture of Steven cursing, how he looked when he was angry, and the fact that he was standing up for his girlfriend, created another wave of heat to travel through Spinels body, making her bite her lip as the scene unfolded. "Or what? You can't punch my beautiful face, or else you could be suspended, we both know that~" Kevin stated, Sarah continued to look on at the two males talking with that same shit eating grin from earlier before stepping closer to Steven. "That's right little boy, now run along~" she spoke, giving the right side of Stevens face a little gentle pat, still smirking a bit. Suddenly a hand wrapped around Sarah's wrist, but the appendage didn't belong to Steven, nor Spinel, and not even Kevin, the female's eyes trailed up the arm only to come face to face with a pissed off Penelope. "Don't you dare touch my brother!" Penelope growled, her grip tightening Sarah's wrist, which made Sarah's smirk to dissolve into a painful grimace. "Penelope? What're you doing?" Spinel asked, now able to be close enough to Steven in where she was able to wrap her arms around Steven, and she could feel his arm lightly tremble from rage. "Something I should've definitely done a long fucking time ago..." Penelope answered, her gaze turned to look at Kevin "a few teachers had warned me about you, you're supposed to be suspended, and have been warned a couple times. This is grounds for you to be expelled, now either you and your girlfriend leave the school grounds, or I'll have your sorry asses brought down to the office for trespassing in the school building" she growled, giving Sarah's wrist one last squeeze before letting go completely. Kevin's face was both a mix of fear and confusion, "c-mon Sarah, let's just go..." He whimpered, finally showing how much of a coward he really is as he gently grabbed Sarah's hand. Sarah scoffed a bit from her boyfriend's reaction, "you're really not gonna stand up for me?" She asked, yanking her hand out of Kevin's grip. Kevin only responded by looking away, "c'mon Sarah....let's just leave..." He spoke softly, feeling embarrassed about being called out by a grown-up. Sarah huffed in a bratty way before storming past Kevin, in which the male followed closely behind, however Steven wasn't going to let it go this easily. "HEY KEVIN!" Steven shouted, which made both Kevin and Sarah turn to look at the enraged male just in time for him to do something that he learned from none other than Spinel. He breathed in hard, stared intently at the two, and raised both his hands to gift the pair two, well earned, middle fingers. The crowd around Steven and Spinel cheered in excitement and a bit of shock since Steven was basically the role model student figure for the school, so it was extremely surprising to see him act that way, not that anyone minded of course. Spinel only stared at her boyfriend at shock, just the fact that he flipped the bird was was something she didn't think he was capable of doing, but here she was, witnessing the angry Steven sneering as he slowly lowered his hands when Kevin and Sarah left the building. "Hey Spinel, I'm going to go make sure they actually leave and not sneak of somewhere else, why don't you take Steven somewhere private to help him cool down" Penelope suggested, in which Spinel nodded in agreement, and what was even better, she knew the exact spot where no one would interrupt them. Steven still hadn't come down from his enragement, even when he felt Spinels fingers becoming intertwined with his fingers, "c'mon, I think you need some space from the crowd" she stated simply before pulling him towards a random direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are two references in this chp, did you spot them both?~


	43. Chp 43 (calm after the storm)

"Spinel, where are we going?...." Steven grumbled, his mood fouled from his encounter with Kevin and Sarah, he also was worried that Spinel was thinking that this special evening was ruined. "Somewhere private" Spinel simply answered as she continued to lead her boyfriend away from the prom, the upbeat energy from the music continued to fade away the further the pair walked. Spinel then stopped in front of a door, her left hand wrapped around the doorknob before giving it a little jiggle, the knob turned to indicate that it was unlocked, which allowed her to open the door with ease. One of Stevens eyebrows were raised, and he turned his head to ask something, but was ultimately shushed when he felt Spinel gently shoved him into the room, his brown eyes watched as Spinel shut the door behind the two. The room that the couple were in appeared to be an old classroom that was converted in a makeshift storage room, a few stacked up chairs, a couple wooden tables, and a metal desk were seen since the only light source was the moonlight shining dimly through the window. Steven watched Spinel carefully as she walked to the metal desk, only to turn around and jump onto the desk backwards by using her arms to boost herself up, she smirked as she now sat on top of the cold metallic surface. He couldn't help but stare at Spinel in the moonlight, "so beautiful, oh god she's going to be the end of me, how'd I get so lucky?" He mentally asked himself, however his train of thought was interrupted when he heard Spinels voice say "Come here Universe~". The slightly grumpy Steven slowly stepped towards the female, he swore he saw hearts in her eyes once again as he felt her soft hands cup his face ever so gently, which ultimately made him blush extremely hard. "Ya know something Doll? I find it EXTREMELY sexy when you curse like that~" Spinel chuckled lowly before pulling Steven into a loving kiss. Steven could feel his grumpy anger wash away as he melted into the kiss, his hands began to grip onto her waist as he stepped even closer, and he could feel her hands slowly leave his face and soon became entangled in his curly brown locks. Spinel sighed softly in the kiss, she could never get over how soft his lips were, so plush, so addicting, and she couldn't help but crave for more. After biting on Stevens bottom lip playfully, she could hear him gasp as he opened his mouth just enough for Spinel to shove her tongue inside. Steven could feel his whole body shudder when Spinels tongue brushed against his, his left hand slowly trailed up her body only to be entangled with her fuchsia colored hair, while his right hand trailed even further down her body, his fingers played with the ruffles of her short dress before his hand gripped at the underside of her thigh. Spinel slowly pulled away, leaving a string of saliva between the two as she panted, "damn Steven I don't think I'll ever get over your lips a-a-ahh~" she began to speak, only to squeak out that last part due to her feeling Stevens lips under her chin. Her breathing hitched as Steven's kisses trailed down the front of her neck a bit, this was new and exciting, she's always been the dominant one during their makeout sessions, but now it's as if the roles have switched. "Nnng S-Steven~" Spinel couldn't help but gasp and sigh when her boyfriend's kissed trailed up the left side of her neck, but she had to bite her lip when his kiss landed directly on a spot under her jawline. Steven didn't know exactly what he was doing, his neck kisses were a bit sloppy since he had never really done anything like this before, but it felt so good when Spinel toyed with his neck like this, he wanted her to feel what he always felt, and possibly even more then that. The silence that occured when Steven kissed on that certain spot indicated that she may or may not have enjoyed what he did, so he pushed his luck a bit and nibbled on that same spot, which earned a shiver from the female, which was also followed by a soft groan. Spinel could feel a type of fire spread through her body, her legs wrapped around his waist as to pull him even closer, craning her head so the male could have better access to her throat. Steven smirked against her skin before resuming his sucking, kissing, and nibbling, "hah-ah~ S-Steven, y-you're gonna l-leave a m-mark~" he heard her sputter. "You always leave marks on me when we're alone like this~" Steven teased, before pulling away to admire his blushing girlfriend, her face was red while she panted, which made her look so cute in his eyes. 

"S-Steven, as much as I love what you're doing right now, we still need to talk about what happened on the dance floor..." Spinel gulped in order to ease her rapidly beating heart. Steven sighed softly, he'd been angry before that was true, but he'd never reached that level of rage before. He was glad that Penelope intervened when she did, otherwise he would've found himself being dragged to the principal's office. "He insulted you, I just couldn't take it, I wanted tonight to be perfect and we had to bump into....THEM....and I was going to let the insults at me slide, but I saw red when Kevin degraded you....I got so angry and....god is that how it feels when you become extremely angry at someone?" Steven asked, his brown eyes studying his girlfriends face as he asked his question. Spinel giggled softly before resting her arms on Stevens shoulders, "yeah, you don't have much of a temper as I do Doll, which is probably a good thing" she giggled before kissing his forehead. "But.....but I've never wanted to punch someone first, usually someone else instigates the fight. Is it bad that I wanted to punch him first?" Steven asked softly, his brown colored orbs glassed over as tears pricked the corner of his eyes. Spinel noticed this and frowned, her hands slowly inched towards his cheeks to cup his face once again, only to to lean towards him and kiss the tears from his eyes, tasting the saltiness of his tears, "Steven Dollface, it's ok to be angry. It's ok to want to punch someone, but it's only ok to do that when they start a fight with you. I know it's hard for me to control my temper sometimes, I can be snappy, and violent at times, but I do remember a few things to help me calm down" she explained softly as her forehead rested against his. "Wh-What?" Steven asked gently, his smile beginning to return as he felt Spinel rest her head against his, which also made his heart flutter. "I remember your goofy ass smile and the reason why you smile~" Spinel chuckled before pulling Steven in for another loving kiss. Steven immediately melted into the kiss once again, feeling reassured with the fact that it was ok to be angry at times, however his mind remained unsettled due to one other fact, that other factor of his life he must admit to his girlfriend. 

"That's not the only thing that I need to tell you, I was going to wait till tomorrow since I wanted tonight to be perfect but... Well that hope is in the gutter so I may as well tell you now...." Steven began to speak after he pulled away from the kiss, his voice slightly shaky as he gripped onto the metal desk. Spinel could only cock her head in response, feeling confused, concerned, and worried for her boyfriend, "what is it Steven? You can tell me...." She reassured him. Steven's brown eyes glanced down, his grip tightened on the metal desk before he sighed, "you know how I've been awarded several scholarships for my musical aspects and stuff? Well after pondering my choices for so long, well I've decided on one that I know can that'll help me with the career path I've chosen" he began to explain. "Oh, did you choose the one in Empire City?" Spinel asked, now placing her hands directly on his chest, the feeling of his rapidly beating heart spiked her curiosity. "No..... further away.... abroad in France....." Steven admitted, he could feel Spinels hands clench into fists as she gripped his button up shirt, and his brown eyes glanced up to lock onto her glassed over pink colored orbs. "F-France?....b-but that's so f-far..." Spinel stated, her bottom lip quivered as she spoke, her heart felt like it dropped and shattered into a million little shards "wh-when? When are you l-leaving? For how long? " She asked in a panicked manner. Steven was a bit taken aback by her sudden mood change, "i-i leave on the first day of September and...." He bit his lip in hesitation before finishing his words "a-and I'll be gone f-for four years...." He sighed softly. "I-I'll..... I'll come with you then! I know m-my grades aren't the best but we can r-rent an apartment....o-or I can secretly s-stay in your dorm room! I-I can learn French as well!" Spinel stated, her grip tightned even more on his black button up shirt as makeup stained tears trickled down her face, her eyes wide with panic and fear, fear of being left alone once again. Steven realized that she was having a type of panic attack, he grabbed her hands from the lapel of his shirt and gently yanked them away before holding her fists tightly in his hands, "Spinel you can't hide in my dorm room for four years....I know you don't want me to go, and I don't want to leave you behind, but this will be my chance to provide for a better future, that is.....if you'd be in my future.....I know four years seems like a long time, but it will pass by so quickly, a-and we still have the whole summer together!". Spinel could only stare at her boyfriend, desperately clinging to his hopefulness, only to break down sobbing, "S-Steven I want you t-to follow y-your dreams b-but.... I-I d-don't wanna be alone...." she admitted in-between her tears. Steven immediately went from rubbing her knuckles with his thumbs to cupping her face, now his thumbs were wiping away her blackened tears, "Spinel listen to me! You're not alone, you have friends now. Pink Pearl, Amethyst, Lapis Lazuli, Peridot, Jasper, and yes I know you're still warming back up to Penelope again, but she's still there as a friend you can talk to. Besides, I'm going to FaceTime you every night till I come home, and we still have the whole summer together!" he quickly explained to reassure his girlfriend a bit. "Y-You know I'm not going to be able to leave you alone all summer right?" Spinel joked, her chuckle was saddened since she knew he'd be leaving in the end. "I didn't plan on leaving you alone all summer either my little bunny~" Steven chuckled softly before leaning in and kissing Spinel forehead, making her blush from the nickname that the male gifted her.


	44. chp 44 (a fun trip part 1)

The next couple weeks were hectic for just about everyone at the highschool, especially for Steven, and even more troublesome for Spinel. She watched her boyfriend rush around at his house preparing certain things for when he has to leave, so that when the time came, it'd be easier to bring certain items with him and have the other stuff mailed overseas. Dread weighed heavily in the pit of Spinels stomach, just watching Steven running around, packing many things was making her head spin, and her heart hurt. She wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, but how could she when he was so busy with packing, and with getting ready for graduation. "Fuck.... graduation is next week....and after that it'll be summer and then.... he'll be gone for four years.... Four years.... that's so long.....way to long...." Spinel thought to herself, and that thought triggered a wave of questions that flooded her mind. "What if he meets a pretty girl over there?! What if he becomes to busy and thinks I'm not worth the extra hassle?! What if he wants to stay there and not come back?!" She thought, her mind raced with these questions in a horrific loop. Spinel then began to feel something unsettling develop throughout her body, something was forming inside her, and she knew exactly what it was. Reality seemed to slowly dissapaite for the female, and try as she might, everything around her had faded to a black hue. This had been happening more than she'd like to admit, everyday after school she'd try to keep her mind busy by studying hard, however her mind would eventually wander into dark territory. Like clockwork, she'd lose sense of reality, hear whispers that weren't originally there, and this would last for an undetermined amount of time. 

"Spinel you ready to go?" Steven asked softly, the feeling of his comforting left hand on Spinels shoulder was enough for Spinel to snap out of her darkened thoughts. "H-Huh?" Spinel blinked, turning her head to look at her loving boyfriend, "oh right the school trip, where are we going to again?" she asked, giving the top of his hand a small kiss. Steven blushed softly, "t-to Empire City, they unveiled a new amusement park last week and that's where we're going, the whole senior class" he answered. Steven noticed that ever since he told Spinel about him leaving to study abroad, she had started to become even more affectionate, not that she wasn't from the beginning of them dating, but it was more than what she usually did. Was it because he was leaving at the end of the summer, and that they wouldn't be able to even touch each other for four years? "Maybe she is trying to squeeze in as much time with me as possible before.....I'm worried about what will happen when she leaves.....I gotta talk to her about this later...." Steven thought to himself, making an extremely important mental note to store away in his brain. "Y-Yea let's go...." Spinel gulped softly, "I gotta be more careful, he's already got so much to do and I don't want to add on to his stress...." she thought to herself. Steven's signature smile developed on his face, his left hand released it's grip from Spinels shoulder, and he turned it over so his palm was facing upwards, as if he wanted his girlfriend to grab his hand. Spinel stared at Stevens opened hand for a couple seconds, her soft smile returned to plaster onto her face as she grabbed his hand, and with his help, she stood up with ease. 

"Yo Ste-man, I'm gonna ride the rollercoaster, I heard it's supposed to be HUGE!" Amethyst stated, extending her short arms as far as they could go to give an underestimated scale of how large the ride would be. Steven chuckled at his friends eagerness, frankly he was also excited as well, spending time with his closest friends, and his girlfriend all in one day. Spinel smiled softly, her left hand on top of Stevens right hand as the whole senior class was taking a couple buses to Empire City's Amusement Park. "I need this day, just to take a break from everything that'll eventually happen, I just need to have fun, with Steven and.....my friends" Spinel thought to herself, she still couldn't believe the school year she's had, just a few months ago Pink Pearl was her only friend, but with Steven in her life she made even more friends, and that made her feel all giddy inside. Spinels pink colored eyes studied her boyfriend, his figure relaxed and.......comfy looking, which sparked an idea inside her mischievous mind. "Hey Stevie, stay still~" Spinel giggled, catching Stevens attention, he had heard that laughter of hers many times to know that she has something planned, and that something would possibly involve the male being teased. "U-Uh sure? " He replied, keeping his body from moving, except from his chest rising and falling due to the need to breathe. Spinels soft smile morphed into a wolfish grin, her face leaning into Stevens face to deliver a quick kiss on his cheek before her body shifted. The next thing Steven knew, Spinel was hovering over his lap, before plopping down onto his thighs, "oof!" he grunted as his girlfriend wiggled backwards, the male had now become a seat. Spinel giggled as she grabbed onto Stevens arms, wrapping his arms around her hips as if to act like a seatbelt, and she leaned backwards more into his front as she sighed in content, "comfy cozy now~". Steven gulped since he wasn't used to Spinel sitting on his lap, her back facing him to be specific, usually they'd be face to face when they're kissing or something like that. But when she was sitting on his lap in the normal way, it felt different, different in a good way of course, but his mind wandered a bit, he didn't know why Spinel sitting on him like this made him feel like this, but damn was he curious to find out. "You know you shouldn't have done that~" Steven stated, his tone serious, but slightly mischievous, as if a part of Spinels playful personality was rubbing off onto him. "Why's that?~" Spinel asked, her hand reaching backwards to cup the right side of his face, her thumb gently rubbing the scar that Steven had developed since the car accident long ago. She swore that she could hear Stevens smirk grow, she then felt his cold fingers trail onto her uncovered stomach, and she cursed herself for wearing a crop top sweatshirt today. "Cause...." Steven paused, his hand freezing right on Spinels bellybutton, "you'll provoke the TICKLE MONSTER~" he finished before tickling his girlfriends exposed tummy, and his smile brightened when he heard Spinels laughter fill the air. "S-Steven no! I-I'm sensitive there!" She laughed loudly, wiggling in his lap just a bit as she grabbed at his hands in an attempt to stop him, but to no avail. "Yeeeesh get a room you two~" Amethyst rolled her eyes, playfully teasing the couple as Steven landed a few quick affectionate pecks on Spinels cheeks, however his ticklish actions have halted. "Maybe later~" Spinel replied, knowing that her words would fluster Steven beyond anything, and one look at his beet red face proved how right she was.


End file.
